Four Bowmore Down To 1969

Colour:

Pale straw.

Nose:

Neat: Clean, coastal Bowmore smoke with sea breeze, brine, shells and a light mineral edge. Bright citrus runs through it – lemon peel, bergamot and a touch of grapefruit – backed by unripe pear and green bananas. Vanilla custard and gentle oak sweetness sit underneath, with a faint medicinal note and a hint of mint.

With water: Water softens the smoke and oak, pushing more fruit to the front: sweeter citrus, lychee and softer pears. A light rope / harbour note appears, alongside extra vanilla creaminess.

Palate:

Neat: An elegant, moderately ashy smoke wraps with vanilla custard, honeyed malt and sharp lemon zest. Green bananas and briny minerals develop, before moving into grapefruit bitterness and spiced oak. The cask strength gives a lively, slightly oily texture without feeling aggressive, but there is some heat anyway.

With water: The profile turns creamier and more dessert‑like, with vanilla custard and honeyed malt taking centre stage and the smoke dialled back. Citrus remains but feels rounder, with less mineral edge and a smoother oak spice.

Finish:

Medium to long, with peat becoming more dominant as fruits fade. Lingering wood smoke, cranberries and dry oak spices remain, with a saline echo.

Colour:

A light brown sherry.

Nose:

Neat: Rich, sherry‑driven sweetness leads with blood orange, prunes, fig jam and dark, almost syrupy red fruits. Silky milk chocolate, demerara sugar and raisins sit over old leather, tobacco leaf and a touch of earthy dunnage. Gentle Bowmore peat stays in the background: soft smoke, a little mineral oil, worn leather and faint coastal air rather than big ash.

With water: A few drops of water soften the spice and oak, allowing more red fruits and sherry character to emerge – ripe red berries, stewed fruits and a touch of floral sweetness – while the peat remains gentle. Vanilla and milk chocolate become more obvious as the darker notes calm down.

Palate:

Neat: Silky and sweet on arrival, with jammy dark fruits (plums, blackberries, raisins), honeyed malt and milk chocolate. Cloves and cracked black pepper build towards the back palate, joined by bitter coffee, dark chocolate and a tannic, slightly astringent oak grip that reins in the sweetness. There is some Bowmore savoury depth too: a trace of rubber, fried pastry, grape‑skin tartness and restrained peat smoke.

With water: Water smooths the attack, making the texture creamier and easing the pepper and tannins. The sherry profile turns more overtly fruity and approachable, with riper red fruits, less bitterness and a slightly sweeter balance, while the peat stays subtle.

Finish:

Drying and moderately long, with lingering dark chocolate, bitter coffee, grape skins and oak tannins, plus a modest halo of peat smoke. Hints of almonds, raisins, orange peel and herbal bitterness echo late on the tongue, while pepper and ginger add a nice prickling sensation.

Colour:

Mahogany.

Nose:

Neat: Dense sherry from the first sniff: burnt treacle, molasses, raisins and Christmas cake. Old leather, lacquered wood and incense drift in, evoking a church with burning candles, overlaid by dark balsamic, candied pecans and mineral, slightly coastal stone notes. The Bowmore peat is present but wrapped in the sherry – more smoky incense and burnt sugar than overt ash.

With water: Water shifts the profile towards spice and darker oak: ginger, star anise, burnt oak and deeper smoke, plus candy‑like raisins and hints of burnt tea leaves, grass and hay. With the glass held a little further away, a creamy vanilla note joins the treacle and toffee as the alcohol prickle eases.

Palate:

Neat: Full, oily and unctuous. Thick waves of raisins, figs, preserved fruits, strawberry – rhubarb jam and salted caramel roll over dark chocolate, cold and wet wood, burning candles and sweet incense. Tobacco, leather, orange marmalade and softly integrated Bowmore smoke emerge with time, adding savoury depth and a firm, gripping sherry‑oak backbone.

With water: Slightly tighter and less syrupy, with fizzy sherbet on the tongue, maple syrup over bacon, and more noticeably salty back‑palate. Persimmon, black pepper, cinnamon and a touch of grapefruit appear, while the sweetness becomes more measured and the texture a little lighter.

Finish:

Long, rich and persistent, with sherry and leather leading into cocoa, ash and woody spice. Just as it seems to fade, little flashes of dried fruit and subtle peat reappear, leaving a dark, resinous, incense‑smoky afterglow.

Colour:

Mahogany.

Nose:

Neat: A vivid burst of fresh old-style sherry with blackcurrant leaves and blackcurrants dominating, laced with ripe tropical exotics – mango, lychee, passion fruit, pineapple and muscat grapes. Gorgeous musty dunnage funk brings beeswax, damp cellar, polished furniture and rancio, plus a whisper of sweet green smoke, sea salt and herbal eucalyptus. Cardamom, cloves and hibiscus florality add refined spices.

Palate:

Neat: Rich sherry sweetness unfolds with sugared plums, dates, figs and sultanas, interwoven with lychee, tropical cocktail and floral hibiscus tea. The warehouse character shines through as waxy rancio, old leather, tobacco leaf and dulce de leche earthiness, with subtle warm peat, coastal brine and minty sophistication. Ice wine-like depth emerges with honeyed grapes, barley malt and faint exotic fruits. The mouthfeel felt slightly thin at first, after the 15-year-old, but immediately it becomes syrupy and boxes above its weight.

Finish:

Long and elegant, transitioning from tropical sherry fruit to resinous beeswax, dry oak tannins and gentle smoky embers. More tropical fruits, herbal teas and refined blackcurrants linger with poised salinity.