Loch Indaal Catch 1982 Bowmore (Wemyss Malts)

Loch Indaal Catch 1982 Bowmore, ~32 YO, 46 %

Time to go fishing, on the pier at Bowmore. Throwing the line into the Loch Indaal, the sea inlet outside Bowmore, hoping to catch something interesting. And what do we find? Well, how about the Loch Indaal Catch 1982 Bowmore, from independent bottler Wemyss Malts, a pretty good catch I imagine.

This is by far the most expensive single cask bottling released from Wemyss Malts so far. The whisky was distilled at Bowmore in 192, then matured in a hogshead until it was bottled in 2014. The total outturn was 165 bottles. The product was released in July 2014.

You can still purchase the Loch Indaal Catch 1982 Bowmore in Norway at NOK 8500 (item number 1819201), and in Sweden at SEK 7664 (item number 84609).

Nose (23/25): Soft floral notes, some perfume. Salty and fruity. Vanilla and well-chewed wooden pencils. Soft on the peat, a bit of leather and ashes. Darker and warmer on the nose after a while - the nose becoming more and more dreamy as time passes. Imagine a fisherman on the pier in Bowmore, fishing rod in one hand, and a bouquet of flowers misty with salty sea spray in the other.

Taste (23/25): Wow! Super soft, velvet on my tongue. As it trickles over my taste buds there is a myriad of tastes to pick up here; pepper, ginger, creamy caramel, oranges, apples, rose water, herbs, and soft spices. The peat is here, but in the background, forming a nice, solid base.

Finish (22/25): Long and warm. Apples and salty caramel. Exquisitely sweet and soft. It's a long and comforting embrace of a finish. Rich and oily mouth feel.

Balance (23/25): What a perfectly lovely Islay dram! It is quite soft on the peat, but that is OK - it is refined and delicate. A nice catch!

Score (91/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas