Whisky Advocate Blog

When I was with John Campbell, distillery manager of Laphroaig, on Friday night during our live Webcast, he told me about some new whiskies coming to the U.S. I tweeted about it on Saturday, but forgot to mention it to my blog followers.

Laphroaig Triple Wood will be going into general distribution in 2010. The Triple Wood, in general terms, is similar to a Laphroaig Quarter Cask finished off in sherry casks before being bottled.

In addition to the Triple Wood, he also informed me that they will be bottling some special limited edition Laphroaigs exclusively for the U.S. market. When I asked what it might be, he was somewhat elusive. However, he did say that they were short on older whiskies, so it would probably be something younger. Then, he mentioned that they distilled some whisky right at the turn of the Millennium, so perhaps we might see some sort of Millennium bottling?

Stay tuned…

The formal press release for the new Gold Bowmore came out yesterday. The details are below. I got you the details in advance here back on September 11th. I’ll be reviewing this whisky live tomorrow on Twitter at 4pm EST, so if you’re not doing anything, join us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold Bowmore: The final stage of a 45 year long journey
The most collectable whisky in the world
 
Bowmore, Islay, Scotland, 21st September 2009: First there was White, then Black and now the exquisite trilogy is complete with the release of the exclusive Gold Bowmore – a 44-year-old single malt whisky from Bowmore’s famous weather beaten distillery on the Scottish Island of Islay.
 
A highly collectible and multi-award winning whisky, with previous trilogies selling at auction for as much as $18,000, Bowmore has long been coveted by whisky lovers worldwide and today sees the release of just 701 bottles of this unique Gold Bowmore spirit, each lovingly hand-numbered and encased in a stunning Burr Elm box.
 
44 years of quiet maturation in the famous number one vaults, has allowed an exceptional and rare example of Bowmore single malt to develop – the oldest one ever to be released from the distillery. Gold Bowmore has been created from the same hand-crafted spirit as the first two in the trilogy with the individual taste of each influenced by the different casks they were matured in. Gold Bowmore is uniquely matured in three Bourbon casks and a single Oloroso cask then carefully married together to make a spirit richly gold in colour with a finish that is beautifully balanced yet incredibly complex.
 
The trilogy began in 2007 with Black Bowmore. Matured purely in Oloroso casks, ebony in colour with aromas of exotic fruits, ginger and cinnamon, there were just 827 bottles produced. This was followed last year by the release of White Bowmore, matured in Bourbon casks, the colour of golden syrup and scents of galia melon, mango and papaya and launched with just 732 bottles. All three spirits come from the same year – the first time a Bowmore trilogy has been created this way.
 
Eddie McAffer, Distillery Manager at Bowmore commented: “I am so proud to see this last and very special part of the trilogy released. At Bowmore we put everything we have into every single bottle but this Gold Bowmore is something quite unique, embodying everything that is special about the whisky and from a year when things at the Bowmore distillery really went into a new era.”
 
The trilogy reflects Bowmore’s heritage of whisky created by people so passionate that nothing stands in the way of perfection. The whiskies are now some of the most collectable in the world and on release Black and Gold impressed critics across the globe.
 
Gold Bowmore (42.4%) will be available for pre-orders from 1st September at Harrods, Whisky Exchange, Fortnum & Masons, Vintage House & Harvey Nicols and will be on sale from 23rd September at £3000 RRP.
 
Notes to editors:
The original trilogy
Whisky lovers will be familiar with the original Black Bowmore trilogy, released in 1993, 1994 and 1995. These highly acclaimed limited editions are some of the most collectable in the world and in 2007 an original set sold for $18,000 at Christies – the highest amount ever reached for whisky at a world auction.  The new Black, White and Gold trilogy are a reflection of this original trio, taking the last of the spirit from this amazing distillation.
 
Tasting Notes
Black Bowmore
Ebony in colour with aromas of exotic fruits, ginger and cinnamon.
A palate combining ripe mango, toffee and dark chocolate with the faintest hint of signature Bowmore smoke
 
White Bowmore
The colour of golden syrup with amazing aromas of Gallia melon, mango & papaya.
On the palate, mixed exotic fruits, vanilla and maple syrup with a trace of Bowmore peat smoke   
 
Gold Bowmore
Rich gold in colour with aromas of passion fruit, papaya and vanilla.
An explosion of ripe exotic fruits, creamy vanilla and only a hint of peat smoke on the palate
           
1964
Gold Bowmore is the final part of the trilogy which began back in 1964, and has a fascinating history. This milestone year for Bowmore marked a new era in the crafting of the famous single malt. The distillery had newly converted the original coal-fired pot sills to stills that run on steam enabling far better control of the temperature. At the same time as the first batch of distillate dropped from these new stills, 17 sherry butts from Williams and Humbert arrived at the distillery. Unlike the traditional bourbon casks, which impart a golden hue on their contents, the oak Oloroso casks, retain the sherry taste and colour, which results in a much darker, reddish amber whisky.