Whisky Review 128: Bowmore 1964
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Bowmore 1964 SOffiantino sherry cask is truly a museum piece Whisky. A top distilling year, 1964 has produced some of the very best Bowmores ever and this one is up there amongst the best.
Musty Zest... This Bowmore was EPIC. Fortunate enough to try at the Swan Song in Singapore. That intensity on the nose, like being transported into another dimension. This is one of those drams that literally brings a tear to your eye when you nose it.
Nosing drams like this make you wonder will scotch ever taste quite like this ever again. I've never found or nosed a modern-day bottling even remotely on the level of this dram. The night I tried this, I tried a heavily sherried Old Cask Mate 1972 Ardbeg, similar colour, again, tear to my eye in absolute awe of nosing a whisky of that caliber. Watching this is reliving the moment. Happy World Whisky Day boys, I know there will be something special in your glasses today!
Cheers to that Alex. It is truly life changing when drinking drams like this.
Had to watch this again. Merry Christmas.
Love these rare bottle reviews guys. Not much else of this on UA-cam. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Matthew. Will do.
another fantastic video! this is a museum quality dram! cheers guys- Chris
Thank you Chris. Cheers bud.
A liquid history! Amazing review guys, thanks
It really is. Thank you.
Wow. What a special treat!! I’m jealous. I do have a ‘68 in reserve and I’m hoping it to be in the same ball park. Congrats guys... you are doing it right sharing cost. I’ve had to do it alone. My pals would sock me in the nose if I asked them to split a $5000 bottle. Lol. Your reviews are the best by far. Keep them coming!!!!
Thanks Cato. We appreciate the kind words.
Dang Cato, if we lived a little bit closer we would have a lot of fun. Like you I have no one to bring on board for this kind of thing.
great review guys, right there with the 1959 glen moray. really appreciate all the high end reviews.
Thanks Mark. Yes both are up there in that 96 level. Different in style but that mind blowing quality that is clearly different from other high end whiskies. That's what we are here for so appreciate you watching and commenting.
Thank you so much for sharing ! Absolutely great bottle👏🏼
Greetings 🇩🇪
Moses
Cheers brother.
1964 was the year of my birth... This whisky will remain out of my reach.
What a great review! Keep ‘em coming!
Thank you. Will do.
Serge gave this a 94, his review of this one is very interesting reading as well. When the word maltoporn is used then you know it's another level.
Yes, im honestly surprised he didnt go a little higher on this one. Its that epic. Thanks for commenting Peter. Cheers!
Malt Reviews Maybe Serge's sample was from a freshly opened bottle or 4/5 empty bottle that's been too oxidized? You almost never know when someone rates a whisky at what point the fill level it's being scored at?
For sure. I've tried 2 macallan bottles once freshly opened and once when it was almost empty and they were completely different whiskies. At the bottom it went completely flat. That being said a 94 by serge is no joke, hehe.
Who's this Serge guy, and does he a channel?
Glad to see you guys are back! Cheers from Holland
Thank you, cheers from Cali.
Thanks for sharing an epic whisky with us. There is no apology needed when you have a high priority with collecting scotch. Its a hobby like anything else. It makes life exciting and who doesn't like having an orgasm. Great review.
Haha, thanks buddy.
That's a very important point what you say about tasting notes. It starts feeling meaningless when reviewers say "caramel" or "fruit" -- caramel can mean artificial sweetness, fruit is too general to mean anything, etc.
Yah, that's why a detailed explanation and a score can help explain how good it truly is.
Great review!!! If I had the money I wouldn't have a problem spending that much on such a release. Too bad I got into scotch so late. Great explanation on how you rate at 90+. I agree, it must be a lot better in more than one element to move up the rating scale beyond 90 points. Too bad Jim Murray as bastardized what is rated 90+ this last decade, it seems that if it's good it's in the low 90s for him. A whisky really needs to be great (really wanting more) to even think of a 90+ as there are so many very good ones that sit in that 88-89 range.
Absolutely. Its all about knowing how that person rates and what their experience level is. If Macallan 18 is the best whisky they have tried then that might be a 95 in their eyes until they try more and adjust their score. Jim Murray has a lot of experience obviously and has tried it all but its a business for him now. I don't pay attention to those scores. Its silly as you say. 88-89 to us means the whisky is amazing, just not epic in comparison to some other bottles that are.
Are you gassing your Bowmore 1964? If not at what point will you? If ever?
Not yet. Most likely when its half empty. Always a little more risky at 43% so maybe even sooner than that. But we def will.
Can I ask regarding the glassware you use, ultimately do you find a difference in glassware that is high end and hand-blown aka Lalique James Suckling/Macallan limited etd.
Apart from the luxuriousness of the glass, would you say these glasses offer up a better experience to the whisky? I was looking at getting the Lalique JS cognac or the Macallan version, can't decide if there will be major differences vs say a $20 glass and is it worth it taking away the luxury factor.
Great question. The fancy lalique glasses are no better for nosing than a proper nosing glass for $10. I will say it can add to the experience. Sometimes when your drinking something high end , its nice also nice to have a pretty glass like this one but in terms of making the whisky better I would say no.
Its hard to pick a fav glass as I feel like each whisky is different in each glass and some work better with certain whiskies. Eisch nosing glass you see next to the lalique in this video is an amazing glass and is def in my top 3.
"What the hell happened to Bowmore?" I agree. Nobody, these days, could possibly understand how good old Bowmore can be. You could still buy very good young Bowmore 20 years ago. It's pretty disappointing today. Thumbs up for the Italian bottlers yet again. I can see from the bottle that this is going to be a good one. I think from your notes we also gain an insight into the quality of the sherry casks back then. These barrels would have been shipped full of quality sherry. These days it's young stuff dumped and the barrels taken apart before shipping. I sit on the fence when it comes to paxarrete but this might be pre-paxarette.
New paragraph because this is serious stuff. No need to apologise for "cheese notes" because that is a fantastic bonus - we are talking about a complicated drink and we love quality cheese. Cola - cola nut , cola cube - I get it. (Get rid of the gummy bears, I know where you're coming from but it cheapens it.) I totally agree with your scoring issues. I think you two would like the French Armorik (check it out) Very, very good notes and thank you for sharing. Cheers. WT
Armorik, Aye...
Very good point about what kind of sherry went into the casks and how it was shipped.
Thanks for the great comment. Will check out french Armorik. Cheers Welsh.
The Armorik I'm particularly referring to is the Millesime. They are single cask, ex-sherry barrels. My latest expression is 13 years old. Flying under the radar because they are French and largely unknown.
just bought an old dumpy bottle 12 years old gradi 43... not to compare with the **** they produce today
My birth year bottling. Would be very special for me
Very special year for whisky and you of course.
WOW fantastic review, was 1964 the best year ever or what!? hahaha cheers mate!
Thanks brother. 1964 was def a legendary year. Cheers bud.
These guys don't strike me as the type who can really afford to drink expensive stuff like this.
Costs about 29k here in switzerland ^^
Crazy expensive. Its too bad because there is nothing like it.
Damn sounds tasty. Oloroso casks probably? Anything on the market remotely similar to this one in taste profile for less?
Yes, oloroso. Unfortunately not, there is nothing even remotely close to it. These old bowmores were so fruity and different. It hard to explain honestly how incredible they are.
I see a wine cork. I assume the original one degraded/broke over time? Cool review as usual.
Yes, the original cork broke when we opened it. We wash and keep wine corks for this reason. Its firm tight so they work really well. Thank you.
Have you tried a '64 Black Bowmore?
Sippers Social Club Only one of the 5 casks that went into the first Black Bowmore. It was known as the best cask out of the 5.
bodegasjucar.es/Products/31137-whisky-bowmore-35-aos-1964-421-70cl.aspx
Interesting to see that that bottle is 42.1%. We usually expect higher abv to be an indicator for complexity. That isn't always the case. I have bottles of very old sherry where the average age is 70 years old. At that age there is no difference between Amontillado, Palo Cortado or Oloroso. They are massively concentrated and complex with a huge finish. Every bit as complex as any whisky and you forget that it is 20% abv. Many modern whiskies have a high abv to compensate for lack of complexity.
Absolutely true. Some of our very best bottles are around 43% abv and they are loaded with big flavors. We just dont get the same kind of casks now as you know. I have some very nice sherry bottles that are waiting to be opened. How long do you keep your sherry bottles open for?
Quality aged sherry is good for a few months without gassing. Like good whisky it's one glass a session. Good fino/manzanilla are good in the fridge for a few weeks. Sherry is probably the best quality/value drink on the market. I'd highly recommend looking at sherrynotes.com and he also has a very good whisky blog.
Welsh Toro Ruben is one of my favorite reviewers and I’ve talked to him about sherry a few times. He is the reason I purchased several bottles. I haven’t opened any of my high end ones yet though.