Islay, Scotland
Bowmore 12 Year Old
- Smoky
- Maritime
- Fruity
Distillery
Bowmore whiskies
Bowmore is the oldest distillery on Islay, founded in 1779 in the village of the same name, on the shores of Loch Indaal. It belongs to Suntory Global Spirits. It is one of the few Scottish distilleries that keep their own floor maltings, and it stores whisky in one of the oldest maturation warehouses in Scotland, right by the sea. Its style, with moderate smoke and plenty of fruit, places it halfway between the most extreme Islays and the gentle malts.
- Founded
- 1779
- Owner
- Suntory Global Spirits
- Origin
- Islay, Scotland
- In the catalogue
- 4 whiskies
History, style and where to startSee it on the world mapBowmore official website(opens in a new tab)
Photos of Bowmore
Photo: Mick Garatt · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted) 
Photo: Martin Cígler · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted) 
Photo: Euan Nelson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
Islay, Scotland
Bowmore 15 Year Old
- Dried fruit
- Smoky
- Sweet
Islay, Scotland
Bowmore 18 Year Old
- Dried fruit
- Sweet
- Fruity
Islay, Scotland
Bowmore No. 1
- Vanilla
- Sweet
- Smoky
Guide to Bowmore
History
The distillery was founded by a local merchant at the end of the 18th century, and in the 19th it passed to a family of German origin who expanded it. During the Second World War the Royal Air Force used part of its premises as a flying-boat base. In 1963 it was bought by Stanley P. Morrison, whose company ran it for decades and gradually became part of the Japanese group Suntory from the 1980s. Bowmore is also famous for some of the most sought-after old malts in the world, bottled from casks that had spent decades in its warehouse by the loch.
House style
Bowmore’s style is medium-peated, gentler than its south-coast neighbours. The smoke, with notes of peat and seaweed, combines with tropical fruit, citrus, honey and, in the sherried versions, chocolate and dried fruit. With age the smoke recedes and the fruit takes centre stage. It is an elegant, medium-bodied Islay with a briny finish.
Average flavour profile of its 4 whiskies in the catalogue
Where to start
Bowmore 12 Year Old is the way in: gentle smoke, honey and citrus, ideal for those starting out with smoky whiskies. The 15-year-old adds sherry casks, with more dried fruit and chocolate, and the 18-year-old shows how age rounds off the smoke. It is a good house for discovering Islay without the intensity of Ardbeg or Laphroaig.
This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.
The colours of this page are inspired by the look of Bowmore. WhiskyMatch is independent and has no connection with the brand.