I consider myself a goal-oriented individual. I set out to teach myself a little bit about appreciating single malt scotch whisky, and thought composing a blog might be a good creative outlet with which to chronicle my experiences. Once I realized I had run out of malts to discuss after 25 or so, I was resolute in my pledge to find 10 new ones before continuing. It seemed a reasonably modest goal...
...Until I was stymied by #8, dead in the water. Halfway through my first dram, I found myself staring at the rest of the bottle wondering how I would ever get rid of this stuff. This is the risk inherent in shelling out for an entire 750mL bottle of untried whisky, sometimes you're going to come across a lemon. Ironically, lemon was exactly what they were going for with Bowmore 12.
By its relative abundance on liquor store shelves and modest price, I had always assumed Bowmore 12 to be an entry level Islay malt (it is the oldest of the eight Islay distilleries as it turns out). I was looking forward to some peat smoke of course, some funky phenol aromas (20 ppm), hopefully some salty maritime notes. I dig that. Nothing daunting like your first Laphroaig or Ardbeg experiences. Even the label carries expectations of a summery lighter malt, promising "pools of honey, sharpened by lemon zest". Hmm... well, lemon is definitely not a favorite of mine, but why not, I'll give it a try...
In the immortal words of fictional scotch enthusiast Ron Burgundy, "I immediately regret this decision!" Well, maybe not immediately, I actually got off to a promising start with the nose. Pretty damn smoky from the start, industrial phenolic latex aromas kicking in, much stronger than I had anticipated. A faint floral character shows up, but is quickly overpowered by the citrus that starts to turn up the nostrils right at the end. Lemon indeed. Together with the phenolic aromas, I find myself drawing unfortunate associations with lemon-scented Pledge (a potent spider repellent as it turns out).
I take my usual small, tentative first sip... Surprise attack! Have you ever ordered delivery from your favorite pizzeria, then waited patiently for your large pie with ham to arrive at your door, only to sink your teeth in to discover that some soulless bastard sprinkled pineapple all over it? There's no picking that crap off, it's straight up ruined. I'll bet you can see where I'm going with this...
I'm hit with an amped up acidic lemon flavor, creating a sharp tangy bite that when covered by a dank blanket of peat smoke, makes me recoil at the off-putting imbalance. I swallowed it down immediately like a fraternity pledge knocking back rotgut mystery punch, not bothering to swirl it around my taste buds to savor its finer points. The finish was mercilessly eternal, a pungent coating of lemony antiseptic that felt like it was penetrating my teeth. Not a great start, but this has happened before when my preconceived notions about a particular malt are met with dramatically different results. Now at least I know what to expect. I'll try again tomorrow.
...Nope. Still hate it.
At least on subsequent occasions I made a concerted effort to give Bowmore 12 its due diligence with the whole nose/palate/finish routine, but to no avail. I never did find anything redeeming about the over the top citrus character juxtaposed with the more traditional smoky unctuousness of other Islay malts. Never did I come across those "pools of honey" I was promised. I'm sure there's a delightful smoky malt hiding in there somewhere, but I just cannot get past that damned lemon taste. I grimaced with every sip, and chased every dram with something (anything!) else to beat the lingering sour finish into submission.
It took me three months to get through my Bowmore 12, and by the end I was trying everything: drops of water, ice, honey, I even tried cooking with it (don't!). I was still very much disenchanted with the stuff as I finally tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin. Lesson learned.
I find you don't really learn anything objective from one-star or five-star online reviews, and I'm afraid I have foisted the former upon you in this case. I could not muster the enthusiasm needed to be more informative of Bowmore's historical significance, distilling practices, nor the impressive market share it boasts among Islay malts. In fairness, Bowmore 12 is consistently highly rated by those far more knowledgeable and experienced than myself, particular praise given to its nuance and restraint in comparison to other Islay malts. I find my opinion is very much in the minority.
The important thing to remember when you're reading this or anybody's review of Bowmore 12, restaurants, movies, power tools, etc. is that they are all highly subjective. Full disclosure - my abhorrence of this well-respected malt no doubt stems from my pathological hatred of lemons. I can't even drink water served with a wedge on the rim. No lemonade, limoncello, whisky sours, lemon on seafood (squeeze that crap on my oysters and we're gonna have to step outside), and so on. It makes everything taste like cafeteria dishwater.
I recognize this is a personal hang-up, and unless you share similar taste aversions, you will likely have a uniquely different experience, for better or worse. Despite all this talk about its overwhelming lemon character, I should point out that there is no actual 'lemon zest' in the malt, but its hallmark aromas and flavors are unmistakable in the finished product and even touted by the distillers on the label. If that appeals to you at all, congratulations, Bowmore 12 is your jam. In my humble opinion however, when scotch hands you lemons, drink bourbon.
Overall grade: 68/100, D+
In the immortal words of fictional scotch enthusiast Ron Burgundy, "I immediately regret this decision!" Well, maybe not immediately, I actually got off to a promising start with the nose. Pretty damn smoky from the start, industrial phenolic latex aromas kicking in, much stronger than I had anticipated. A faint floral character shows up, but is quickly overpowered by the citrus that starts to turn up the nostrils right at the end. Lemon indeed. Together with the phenolic aromas, I find myself drawing unfortunate associations with lemon-scented Pledge (a potent spider repellent as it turns out).
I take my usual small, tentative first sip... Surprise attack! Have you ever ordered delivery from your favorite pizzeria, then waited patiently for your large pie with ham to arrive at your door, only to sink your teeth in to discover that some soulless bastard sprinkled pineapple all over it? There's no picking that crap off, it's straight up ruined. I'll bet you can see where I'm going with this...
I'm hit with an amped up acidic lemon flavor, creating a sharp tangy bite that when covered by a dank blanket of peat smoke, makes me recoil at the off-putting imbalance. I swallowed it down immediately like a fraternity pledge knocking back rotgut mystery punch, not bothering to swirl it around my taste buds to savor its finer points. The finish was mercilessly eternal, a pungent coating of lemony antiseptic that felt like it was penetrating my teeth. Not a great start, but this has happened before when my preconceived notions about a particular malt are met with dramatically different results. Now at least I know what to expect. I'll try again tomorrow.
...Nope. Still hate it.
At least on subsequent occasions I made a concerted effort to give Bowmore 12 its due diligence with the whole nose/palate/finish routine, but to no avail. I never did find anything redeeming about the over the top citrus character juxtaposed with the more traditional smoky unctuousness of other Islay malts. Never did I come across those "pools of honey" I was promised. I'm sure there's a delightful smoky malt hiding in there somewhere, but I just cannot get past that damned lemon taste. I grimaced with every sip, and chased every dram with something (anything!) else to beat the lingering sour finish into submission.
It took me three months to get through my Bowmore 12, and by the end I was trying everything: drops of water, ice, honey, I even tried cooking with it (don't!). I was still very much disenchanted with the stuff as I finally tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin. Lesson learned.
I find you don't really learn anything objective from one-star or five-star online reviews, and I'm afraid I have foisted the former upon you in this case. I could not muster the enthusiasm needed to be more informative of Bowmore's historical significance, distilling practices, nor the impressive market share it boasts among Islay malts. In fairness, Bowmore 12 is consistently highly rated by those far more knowledgeable and experienced than myself, particular praise given to its nuance and restraint in comparison to other Islay malts. I find my opinion is very much in the minority.
The important thing to remember when you're reading this or anybody's review of Bowmore 12, restaurants, movies, power tools, etc. is that they are all highly subjective. Full disclosure - my abhorrence of this well-respected malt no doubt stems from my pathological hatred of lemons. I can't even drink water served with a wedge on the rim. No lemonade, limoncello, whisky sours, lemon on seafood (squeeze that crap on my oysters and we're gonna have to step outside), and so on. It makes everything taste like cafeteria dishwater.
I recognize this is a personal hang-up, and unless you share similar taste aversions, you will likely have a uniquely different experience, for better or worse. Despite all this talk about its overwhelming lemon character, I should point out that there is no actual 'lemon zest' in the malt, but its hallmark aromas and flavors are unmistakable in the finished product and even touted by the distillers on the label. If that appeals to you at all, congratulations, Bowmore 12 is your jam. In my humble opinion however, when scotch hands you lemons, drink bourbon.
Overall grade: 68/100, D+
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