Bowmore Launches New Expression: Bowmore Small Batch Reserve
May 2012 – Bowmore, the first Islay Single Malt Whisky, is launching a new expression in the UK, Bowmore Small Batch Reserve. Uniquely created from a selection of the finest first- and second-fill bourbon casks, and brought together for an extended period of maturation, this expression is Bowmore’s most delicate and best balanced yet. The combination of the Bowmore spirit and ex Bourbon casks is widely regarded as the perfect marriage as demonstrated by the layers of sweet vanilla that prevail within this whisky. The new addition coincides with the release earlier this year of new packaging across the core range and new travel retail expressions. Bowmore Small Batch Reserve is available from select off-trade accounts from May at RRP £32.99.
As Bowmore’s lightest and most delicate expression to date, Small Batch Reserve has been developed especially for the discerning whisky drinker wishing to explore the Islay Single Malt category. With over 230 years of experience and its unique location on Islay, Bowmore is widely acknowledged to be among the finest and most balanced whiskies in the world, renowned for its rich peaty and smoky tones. Bowmore Small Batch Reserve is no different and one sip transports the drinker to its magical island home. The packaging also encapsulates Bowmore’s Islay heritage, traditions and craftsmanship, giving consumers a sense of drinking a specific place, history and way of life.
Launched also in response to increased consumer demand for special and small batch whiskies, Bowmore’s new proposition is just that. A genuine release of limited volume, Small Batch Reserve is vatted in restricted quantities and is created from a careful hand selection of exceptional North American Oak casks brought together to produce a unique expression of remarkable style and character.
Exclusively matured in first and second fill ex Bourbon casks, then blissfully married together, Small Batch Reserve exhibits the best qualities of both. First-fill bourbon offers delicious vanilla sweetness, subtle spices and bourbon oak smoke to complement Bowmore’s gentle peaty smokiness, while the second-fill cask enhances Bowmore’s fresh fruity complexity and showcases its trademark honey and creamy malt character. During the marrying period, they combine to create an exceedingly complex expression, showcasing the perfect balance between top quality bourbon cask sweetness and spice, and the natural elements of Islay; air, water, earth and fire beautifully balanced and in perfect harmony.
Rachel Barrie, Master Blender of Morrison Bowmore Distillers, adds: “Bowmore Small Batch Reserve encapsulates the perfect harmony of nature’s elements on a summer’s day on Islay. The sweetest smoked barley and highest quality bourbon oak casks have created a vanilla elixir with ripe orchard fruits, honeycomb and teasing wispy smoke. Relax, take it easy and enter Islay time with the harmonious taste of Small Batch Reserve.”
Experience the delicious, if not unusual, combination of Bowmore Small Batch Reserve accompanied withsome high-quality vanilla ice cream drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea-salt. See how the vanilla ice cream brings out the sweet vanilla from the first- and second-fill bourbon casks, the olive oil complements the Bowmorepeat smoke, while the salt highlights the trademark Bowmore sea-salt tang.
BOWMORESMALL BATCH RESERVE
40% ABV, £32.99 RRP
TASTING NOTES
On the eye warm gold
Breathe in vanilla fudge, sea air and peat smoke, balanced beautifully by honeycomb and cinnamon spice
Sip mouth-watering citrus, gentle saltiness and vanilla with flakes of coconut
Savour the wispy smoke, bourbon vanilla and lime finish
For more information, please visit www.bowmore.com and www.facebook.com/bowmore
UK Distributor: Cellar Trends on 01283 217703 or enquiries@cellartrends.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Bowmore
The best-balanced Islay Single Malt whisky is the perfect reward after your outdoor experience.
Founded in 1779, Bowmore is the oldest Distillery on Islay, one of the Scottish isles, which make up the region known as the ‘Islands’ in the lexicon of Whisky. The other regions are the Highlands, Speyside and the Lowlands. Islay malts are famous for their characteristic smokiness and Bowmore is no exception; we carefully smoke our malt and use skills handed down from generation to generation to craft a perfectly balanced Single Malt.
Bowmore’s adherence to traditional production methods helps to shape the character of our Single Malts. We’re one of only a few distilleries anywhere which still produces its own floor malted barley, hand-turned by traditional wooden malt shovel and hand drawn machinery. For our whiskies we draw water from the Laggan River, with its rich peaty overtones, and it’s the same Islay peat that fires the malt-drying kiln.
Bowmore Distillery’s close proximity to the sea is also vital in determining the final character of our spirit. The legendary Bowmore No. 1 Vaults is where most of our whiskies spend their long lives resting quietly in the cool, dark, damp cellars below sea level, oblivious to the waves thrashing the Vault’s sea-facing wall.
They mature in oak casks, previously used for bourbon, sherry or claret, gradually developing rich and mellow flavours.
It’s this combination of peat, barley, sea breeze, water, wood, people and tradition that together create the perfectly balanced warm and smoky character of Bowmore Single Malt Whiskies.
The Bowmore domestic product range:
Bowmore Legend
Bowmore 12 Years Old
Bowmore 15 Years Old ‘Darkest’
Bowmore 18 Years Old
Bowmore 25 Years Old
Islay
Islay is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides, and is also known as “The Queen of the Hebrides.” Its mild climate and rich peaty soil make it ideal for creating whisky, and despite having a population of not much more than 3,000, it’s home to no fewer than eight distilleries.
