The Bowmore 12 Year Old

The Bowmore 12 Year Old is a single malt Scotch whisky from the Isle of Islay, a region renowned for their heavily peated single malt whiskies. It is the standard age-statement single malt from the core range from the Bowmore Distillery, placed above the no-age-statement, Bowmore No.1.

Claimed to be the oldest distillery on the Isle of Islay, Bowmore is considered to be the middle ground of Islay single malts. Between the unpeated Bruichladdich and the heavily peated Ardbeg, and Laphroaig, the Bowmore is considered by many to be just the right amount of peated single malt.

History

John. P. Simon built the Bowmore Distillery in 1779 on an island located in the Inner Hebrides, with the River Laggan acting as the distillery’s chief water source. Production went on smoothly for many years and the distillery was sold to William and James Mutter in 1837.

Nearly fifty years later, in the wake of the Great Depression, John Bell Sherriff of Campbeltown became the new owner of the distillery in 1887, before eventually bought out by a consortium led by Joseph Robert Holmes in 1892. It was Holmes who gave the name ‘Bowmore’ to the distillery.

The distillery was once again bought by James Bell Sherriff in 1925, and rechristened ‘Sherriff’s Bowmore Distillery’. Undergoing a brief hiatus in production between 1940 and 1943, the Bowmore Distillery served as host for the RAF Coastal Command.

In 1963, the Bowmore Distillery changed hands once again after it was purchased by Stanley. P. Morrison in 1963, and did well for many years, earning the pleasure of hosting Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to a Scotch whisky distillery in 1980.

In 2014, the Bowmore Distillery holding company, Morrison Bowmore Distillers was acquired by Beam Suntory, and it is now part of the Japanese conglomerate’s portfolio.

Making Process

Like a lot of Islay single malts, the process plays a significant role in moulding the whisky in a way unlike any other. The maritime character of Islay single malts is prominent in the Bowmore 12 Year Old single malt Scotch whisky too.

The subdued use of peat managed to retain the more subtle flavours, creating a healthy balance that has successfully won many whisky lovers over for Bowmore.

Alcohol Percentage

The Bowmore 12 Year Old single malt Scotch whisky carries an alcohol strength of 40% ABV, the standard permissible limit for Scotch whiskies.

Awards

Gold award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2018.

Gold award at the International Spirit Challenge in 2017.

Gold award at the International Wine & Spirit Challenge in the Scotch Single Malt: Islay in 2013.

Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in the Single Malt Scotch: Up to 12 Years category in 2013.

Silver Outstanding at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in the Scotch Single Malt: Islay category in 2017.

Silver Outstanding at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in the Scotch Single Malt: Islay category in 2014.

Silver at the International Spirits Challenge in the Independents’ Single Malts: 21 Years and Over category in 2019.