Bowmore distillery lies in the middle of the island of Islay. It shares some of the peaty heart of the southern three, but also a lot of the elegance and refinement of the northern contingent. It was here that I saw a statement that amused me.

“If you can’t find a BOWMORE to fall in love with, you may have to consider very seriously the possibility that you are wasting your money drinking whisky at all.“

This was no problem for me because I loved the two drams I had at Bowmore. Mind you I had to pay for them and the rates were not cheap. Someone is making a pile of money from visitors tastings: AND then they want you to buy bottles of the stuff!!!
The Bowmore visitors centre is very modern and salubrious (perhaps that’s where the money from the tastings go!) that overlooks Loch Indaal. A beautiful spot.

Bowmore 12 year old.
A beautiful amber colour in the glass that looks warming. It has a nose that hints at honey and lemon with a bit of smokiness. The peat is noticable in the mouth, but not the bruising hit that a Laphroaig for example gives you. Delicious and refreshing.

Bowmore 15 year old
This was a gorgeous burnt sienna colour in the glass; there is no other way to describe it. It has a similar smokiness to the 12 year old, but more raisins and chocolate are noticable on the nose. The Mouth was filled with a wonderful treacle taste and restrained peat fire. An excellent whisky, probably the second best of the day after the Caol ila 18 year old.

Ardbeg 10 year old
It has a very pale colour, almost like fino sherry. It has hints of peat and smoke on the nose as well as that sea character. I personally think it could do with more time in the oak. It finishes a bit salty with some bitter edges. I usually have to have a bit of ice with it to calm down the mean edges. I was disappointed by the whiskies and the distillery and I had come with such high hopes. My whisky mentor had recommended Ardbeg as the best of the southern distilleries and this was not my experience.

• Lagavulin 16 year old
• Lagavulin 1990 finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry cask

Lagavulin 16 year old
This scotch has for a long time been my favourite of the Islay whiskies that have been available here in Australia. It has the peat fire to warm the heart, along with the salty tang of the sea. Beautifully golden in colour, it is a smooth scotch that slips down the throat, and the medicinal hints only help one to feel better. It is around $95AUD and that is a lot to pay, but as a special every now and again, it is a great treat.

Lagavulin 1990 Pedro Ximinez Finish
A remarkable orange colour gave the idea that this could be a special brew. It has all the characters from above in abundance (peat, sea spray, medicine) but is a complex scotch that also shows characters of tar 7 sulphur smoothed out with beeswax. It is a mouthfilling syrup that starts sweet and finishes with pepper and salt. This was probably the best scotch I tasted while in Scotland. It was a remarkable drop.

There is no doubt that the Laphroaig whiskies have medicinal qualities, but if all medicine tasted like this, I would have to get sick often!

After the tour we were given a taste of the standard brew.

Laphroaig 10 year old (40%)
Lovely golden colour, this has all the notes on the nose that make it immediately known that it is from Islay, and the medicinal hints lead it strongly to be from this distillery. There is hospital gauze mixed in with seaweed and mouthwash. The lovely peat flavours are strong in the mouth as well as the salty seaweed and a hint of tar. I love it, but others hate it! Form your own opinion and I would be happy to hear from you if you are a fan or otherwise of Laphroaig.

2006 Merlette
This wine is made in a rose style which is unfortunately a forgotten style largely in Australia. This wine had an appealing rose colour and is made from 100% Merlot. There was some floral notes on the nose, but these were not lifted in any way. The wine finishes dry and quite short, but the flavours are appealing and this would make an excellent picnic or midday BBQ wine. 15/20

2005 Merlot
This was a straight merlot made in the conventional manner. Again the colour was appealing and a bright cherry red colour. There were no off aromas and I detected a hint of capsicum. Lovely cherry flavours and a good long finish make this an interesting wine. 16/20

2005 Shiraz
Great dense deep red colour, but bright in the glass. The nose is full of cherries with pepper and spice thrown in. This wine tastes like I believe good Australian Shiraz should taste like, and none of that “V” shit anywhere to be seen (voignier). Warm and a great velvety mouthfeel, this is an elegant and classy wine. It has a long and pleasant finish with layered flavours of chocolate and cherries. At 14.5% alcohol this is big, but far from monstrous. An excellent wine! 19/20

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Another wine with a rich vibrant deep red colour and hints of purple. this wine is still a pup. there were no off aromas, but many hints of a cool climate cabernet (Mint, blackcurrant, cherry) but it is 100% McLaren vale fruit. A beautiful delicate and elegant wine with small berry characters, mixed in with some chocolate. It has a medium weight mouthfeel and a complex range of flavours and a pleasant finish. This wine will probably still be going strong long after I am fertilising the daisies. 18/20

Great wines and a very pleasant experience. Nick comes every year to the Vineyard picnic run in Hobart and it was good to see him again yesterday. Wines to be recommended. It is hard to beat that beautiful McLaren Vale fruit!

I am not sure quite how many we tasted as the memory is begining to play a little false, but there are 2 that I will mention:

• Cardhu 12 year old (40%)
• Caol Ila 18 year old (43%)

Cardhu 12 year old
This was a very light style of whisky that had a few rough edges. the alcohol spirit tends to dominate the flavour and it is not one that I would rush out and buy.

Caol Ila 18 year old
Coal Ila is a distillery on the island of Islay which we visited two days after this Cardhu visit. As past of the same group, the very friendly lady behind the bar offered this to my daughter who claimed she had not found a whisky to suit her taste. This one did! Very much like a golden fino sherry in colour, it had a fruity almost vanilla nose. The flavours were intense and there was no burn in the finish. Lots of fruit and nuts in the flavour, this was a remarkable whisky.

The very friendly man in the shop offerred us two drams:

• Aberlour 12 year old
• Aberlour 16 year old.

12 year old
A golden colour with tinges of red, this had a nose that was very reminiscent of apples or toffee apples. this continued through to the taste which was warm and spicy, yet not the spiritous burning of the last place we visited. The finish lingered in the mouth in a very pleasant way. A nice drop.

16 year old

Rich golden amber in colour and the nose had a fruity and floral aroma, something like fruit cake. what a wonderful mouthfeel! Smooth, full flavoured with plenty of fruit, and a long warm spicy finish. there is no doubt this was the best scotch tasted on this day and blew the three other Speyside distilleries visited (Glen Moray, Glenfiddich & Cardhu) out of the water.

It is a well maintained distillery and it was an enjoyable tour. I thoroughly recommend it! Remember, it is a free tour, and at the end of it you get a dram of the 12 year old, or the special liqueur.

I tasted two drams at Glenfiddich:

• Glenfiddich Special Reserve 12 year old 40%
• Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15 year old 40%

Special Reserve
Light gold in colour with a faint green tinge, I think the Special Reserve is not so special. It does not easily sit in the mouth or slide down the throat without heat and “burn”. It has some harsh edges and there are many scotches I tasted on this trip which leave this one for dead!

Solera Reserve 15 year old
This is better! It is bright golden in colour and the nose shows hints of peat. It was lighgter than I expected at this age, but the flavour was quite appealing.

In a very well presented visitors’ room a very keen and knowledgable member of the glen Moray staff gave me a guided tasting of three whiskies:

• Glen Moray Chardonnay Barrel Speyside Malt (no age statement) 40%
• Glen Moray 12 year old Mellowed in Chenin Blanc 40%
• Glen Moray 20 year old 40%

Chardonnay Barrel
This whisky does not have an age statement, but the scotch in the bottle is from 6 to 10 years old. It’s aroma was quite fruity and scented. It was a light whisky with very little burn and finished nice and crisp. For those wishing to try a single malt whisky for the first time, but don’t want to pay the big bucks for the experience, this whisky can be bought in Australia on special for around $35 AUD, which is not much more than the blended stuff. It is well worth the money to give it a try!

12 year old
Definitely a more yellower colour than the previous dram. it was vastly more complex with lots of pleasant aromas and flavours that I found hard to identify; maybe some walnuts and honey. It slipped down very easily and had a most pleasing warmth. A nice drop!

20 year old
An amber colour was a good hint that this was older, but it was still bright and clean in the glass. A very aromatic nose with hints of spices and cloves, and maybe dried fruit peel. It was a very smooth drop, but lacked some intensity that I thought a scotch of that age shoul have. Maybe I have not yet had enough experience with whisky of that age.

All in all, a very pleasant visit and a distillery I recommend!

Rich,yeasty aromas, the bubbles were persistent and very small (fine bead) and the foam across the tongue as you sipped it was sensational (the mousse). The flavours were unlike any bubbles I had had before. clean, refreshing with a persistent pleasant finish, and the price was in the range of $25 – $30 AUD, not bad when you consider what we pay for some of the bigger known brands.

This visit will live with me until my ashes get scattered; My first glass of Champagne, in Champagne, and very nice it was!