Port Of Call - Bowmore Limited Edition 23 Year Old Port Matured Release

From the far-flung climes of Tasmania, to the equally far-flung Islay (well, to some, anyway) and this week's major new release from one of the more refined smoky beasts on the Island - Bowmore.  To some, Bowmore lacks the sheer visceral, filthy bite of some of the other Islay distilleries, but to us, the recent new expressions, such as Tempest, have harnessed the ability to stay perfectly balanced on the tightrope which swings precariously above the peaty inferno below, that so many whiskies seem to succumb to.  Nothing wrong with falling off -  but to some palates, peated whisky is simply an unapproachable flavour. 

Bowmore's lighter, more floral style is slowly but surely capturing the attention of many (nearly) peat ready palates, as well as slaking the thirst of those who are suffering from P.F.S -  or Peat Fatigue Syndrome -  believe me -  it will hit all whisky drinkers (no matter how much they claim to love the smoky stuff) at some point in their drinking career.  

 Bowmore's latest release adds to the already heady mix of floral peat, characteristic Parma Violet tones and sweetness with the proposition of fortified wine.  This 23 year old from 1989 has been exclusively matured in port casks, which, if used to their fullest effect, can impart more than just a sweetness to the proceedings, pulling in richer, spicier and drier woody notes.  Get it wrong and the dominance of these crimson devils can easily overpower the spirit, rendering it a lost cause.  So will the Douro Valley's finest give this latest Bowmore an additional string to its bow, or fall into the camp of 'unsuccessful, but fun experiment'?  

Bowmore -23 year old Port Matured - 1989 - 12,000 bottles - 50.8% - RRP £380

Nose: Classic Bowmore notes off the bat: sea spray, a touch of iodine and a little Parma Violet, but with a surprisingly lively kick.  Next comes some richer notes of barbecue smoked meat, black pepper and ruby port, like a good marinade, not that you would consider ever using this to marinade anything... Water brings out a fruit gum note: fragrant, citrus and soft orchard fruits (plums and possibly a hint of nectarine) are also present. 

Palate: Sweet into savoury, into drying barbecue charcoal, then blasting off into Parma Violet world. It is distinctly Bowmore and has the elements of what Bowmore does best- surprise, yet comfort at the same time.  The influence of the port is there, giving a sweetness, but the character of the spirit comes from the fragrant top notes and the delicate smokiness, which intermingle with a woody dryness.  It's feisty too and with water, the subtleties start to come thru, with a little menthol developing, some citrus orange zest notes and a more refined smokiness.  

Finish: The smoke takes the driving seat again (a dry charcoal smoke), alongside a tanginess and a gentle return of the Parmas.  

Overall: Unmistakably Bowmore, the lineage is clear here between expressions like Tempest and, to a lesser extent, the heavier Maltman's Selection. This is full of character and a whisky of remarkable presence but the only quibble we have about it is the price. When you consider the Bowmore 25 year old is a good £120 cheaper (available for as little as £220 here) you'd have to be a serial Bowmore'ophile to hunt this one down.  

Ho Ho Hobart...Overeem Australian Whisky

Continuing our theme of interesting world whiskies you probably haven't heard of this month, we bring you news of a brace of new Aussie whiskies about to hit these shores, from The Old Hobart Distillery in Tasmania.  Australian whisky making has really begun to attract the sort of feverish attention it deserves thanks to a number of recent award successes and better distribution outside of Australia and the Old Hobart Distillery located to the south of Tasmania, is the latest to capitalise on this interest.  

Casey and Jane Overeem

The story begins back in 2005 when Casey Overeem, owner and head distiller was granted a distillers licence, with production beginning in earnest in 2007.  The small batch operation was producing around 5000 bottles of whisky a year, mostly matured in a mixture of cut down 100 litre quarter cask port and sherry casks and today the distillery is now running at a capacity of 8000 bottles a year.  

It's a remarkable testament to the explosion of craft distillation in Australia, which can really be traced back to Bill Lark, owner of the Lark Distillery, who first helped change Australian legislation concerning the minimum size of stills allowed in the production of craft spirits.  Since the landmark date in 1992, when Lark was established, Tasmania now boasts at least nine working distilleries (making whisky) with another couple in the planning stages -  heady times indeed.  

So what of the whisky itself?  Well, we've been sent four different expressions: two matured in sherry casks and two matured in port influenced French oak casks.  The differing strengths (two at 60% and two at 43%)  will give us a rough idea of where this spirit is heading. We're told that the casks selected here are between five and seven years old and judging by Casey Overeem's steady hand on the tiller, he's selecting what works best and when.  

Overeem Single Malt Whisky -  Old Hobart Distillery -  Sherry Cask Matured - 43%

Nose: Immediately, this is very inviting and open, with notes of spiced apple pie, vanilla ice cream some perfumed notes and a slight vegetative note (boiled sweet potato.) Given time some sweet, plump raisins come to the fore, alongside a little dustiness and some cracked black pepper. Extremely rich and complex, all said and done.  

Palate: Wonderfully spicy and sweet, with star anise, clove and cinnamon dusted apples coating the palate, alongside some dried fruits (apricot and date), soft caramel and some vibrant blood orange notes.  Balanced and very impressive indeed for a youthful whisky. 

Finish: Lingering notes of dark chocolate, orange zest and toasted malt give this a luxurious and very lengthy finish.

Overall:  What a flying start.  Make no mistake, this is high quality whisky making and what's clear is the care and attention that has gone into pulling this expression together.  Highly recommended if you're a fan of big, bold sherry monsters. 

Overeem Single Malt Whisky -  Old Hobart Distillery -  Sherry Cask Matured - 60%

Nose: Wallop.  This is a big hitter.  Wonderful wafts of classic sherry wood hit first, with juicy raisins, dates and prunes, coupled with woody spices, stewed Bramley apple and perhaps just a faint whiff of some smoky embers from a long forgotten fire.  With water (just a touch, mind) the lighter fruits come through with more precision, alongside a creamy vanilla.  

Palate: At 60%, this is clearly going to be a powerful experience, but extremely pleasing nonetheless. Bold sherry notes (oloroso and PX sweetness) sit alongside a sharp burnt orange zest note, some menthol tones, a blast of anise and high quality cocoa enriched chocolate.  With a dash of water, the fires are tempered slightly, but none of the resonance is lost: a touch of woody smoke can be found if you look hard enough, alongside some toasted nuts, celery hearts, flat cola syrup and vanilla. Superb stuff. 

Finish: Lengthy, with drying notes of moist raisins and orange peel.

Overall: Consider us mightily impressed, Mr Overeem. At this stage of the distillery's production I doubt many people would have expected what has been achieved here, which all points to further greatness in the future.  

With the sherry expressions working far beyond our expectations, let's delve into the port expressions...

Overeem Single Malt Whisky -  Old Hobart Distillery -  Port Cask Matured - 43%

Nose: Distinctly more perfumed than its tempestuous sherried sibling, this is calmer, more restrained and less bombastic.  It has a delicate balance of white flowers, vanilla, ripe summer fruits (strawberry, plum, nectarine and redcurrant) with a sweetened cream drizzled over the top.  Dig a little deeper and some polished wood begins to emerge with some tinned peaches popping in for good measure, but not enough to trouble the fresh and fruity frisson that works so well.  About as summery a whisky as you could hope for. 

Palate: The sweetness of the first sip gives way to notes of liquorice, lemon grass, some toasted oak and a darker, richer fruitiness, one can only assume is derived from a ruby port:  think blackcurrant, toasted vanilla, dark chocolate, a touch of spice and notes of leather and lemon zest.  

Finish: Subtle and balanced, with a few drying notes of tannic oak and cigar leaf. 

Overall: A start contrast to the sherry matured expressions, but no less exciting. This is a superb example of getting the balance between spirit and wood character absolutely spot on.  

Finally, the more shouty port expression... could this be a clean sweep?

Overeem Single Malt Whisky -  Old Hobart Distillery -  Port Cask Matured - 60%

Nose: A very different aroma meets the nose than from the lower ABV version. This time around, it's cracked hard caramel, a touch of butterscotch sauce, roasted walnuts and freshly turned earth, alongside wafts of fresh pine smoke.  The lighter fragranced notes are probably in there, waiting to be set free from the spirit, but this is an altogether more grown up affair.  

Palate: The higher strength brings an explosion of bold flavours:  a distinct toasted nuttiness, some bitter dark chocolate, a touch of espresso coffee, liquorice root, flambeed orange peel and creme brûlée topping.  Think after dinner complexity, from that of an XO Cognac or Armagnac and you're in the same ballpark.  With water, the perfume notes and a lighter orchard fruit note balance with the bolder flavours from above and you're left with something altogether exceptional.  

Finish: Lingering notes of liquorice, orange zest and toasted chocolate malt.  

Overall: What can we say... four outstanding whiskies from this fledgling distillery. With the growth in craft distillation, it would be easy to say that anyone with enough time, financial backing and vision could turn in a drinkable whisky, but to get to this level of finesse in such a short space of time is very unique and requires something extra, unobtainable by conventional means.  It's clear to us that Casey Overeem has a bag full of this fairy dust at his disposal and we very much look forward to trying the next whiskies he decides to give a sprinkling to.

Follow Overeem on Twitter:  @OvereemWhisky

18 Under 30 Part 8: Ramos Pinto 20 Year Old Tawny Port

Hands up then. Honestly, how many folks out there regularly buy either port or sherry?  One, two, three, four... any more??  The sad fact is that as wonderfully scrumptious as they are, those few of you with their hands up are very much in a minority.  Outside of the festive season, port is rarely seen in anyone's glasses, save for a few ruddy old chaps reclining in wood panelled drawing rooms, after a long, coma-inducing three hour lunch.  And as much as we love gastronomy, something is quite remiss here. 

Similarly, the large proportion of port is bought from supermarket chains in the run up to Christmas to be enjoyed alongside the Christmas pudding and obligatory truckle of ripe Stilton cheese. Nothing wrong with this, but when the damn thing has been left in a steaming hot kitchen for the day, it's never at its best...

Oh the injustice! Or something like that, we snigger.  Seriously, we're not that precious about how, when, or indeed why people buy port, we're just thankful that they do, because we bloody love the stuff and Christmas gives us yet another reason to pick up a couple of unusual bottles, offered at bargain prices.  

To give the supermarket chains their credit, the first shelves worth scouring for interesting bottles of port are the big boys.  Sainsburys, Aldi and Tesco have all recently stocked more than their fair share of fruity, fortified bang-for-buck blockbusters:  Tawny port aged in oak, Late Bottled Vintage, single quinta bottlings and crusted port -  one of our biggest discoveries in the past several years for its layers of complexity at a price that doesn't require a platinum Amex.   

However this edition of 18 under 30 focuses on a rather spectacular wine from a certain port house which we visited several years ago and totally fell in love with: Ramos Pinto. 

Ramos Pinto is one of Portugal’s most highly regarded names in the production of port.  Founded in 1880, RP's vintage bottlings carefully blend together wines made from Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca grapes and are then aged for minimum 18 months in oak or chestnut casks.  Alongside their exceptional wines, their artistic bent is very much stuck in the 1920's, which pleases us greatly, as signified by this little gem to the left. But it is the winery's tawny ports that have impressed us the most: oaky, rich and exceptionally balanced they veer effortlessly between ripe red fruit, citrus zest and spicier dried fruit.  

Perfect for a festive tipple then? Oh yes, but given a little time in the fridge, (which we'd urge you to try with any tawny port - especially this Christmas) they're also perfect fare for a long lazy summer afternoon in a hammock, watching your neighbour trying in vain to light his barbecue.  

Anyway, back to the subzero December temperatures, tinsel and festivity.  This Christmas, if you discover just one new drink... make it a tawny port.  It's the gift that keeps on giving... 

Ramos Pinto -  Tawny Port - 20 Years Old - 19.5% 50cl

Nose: Hints of plum, honey and warming spices all mix together with a delicate vanilla note on the first nosing. The oak is very well behaved and in return for your patience, you'll find a continued spiciness, mixed with some orange zest, a little fragrant pipe tobacco and blackberries propping up the rest of the glass. 

Palate: Exceptionally smooth, but with just the faintest note of dryness, your mouth is treated to candied dried fruits, ripe figs, plum jam, some tannic tea notes and and a really pleasant oakiness.  After you've guzzled down the first glass, the second will bring you more honeyed sweetness, ripe vanilla and a very well rounded dried fruit note.  Sensational stuff. 

Finish: Incredibly long, with more dried fruits, cereal and hazelnuts.  All in all, an excellent tawny, which has really benefited from a long, woody maturation.  Everything you'd expect (or indeed- hope for) is in there, alongside so much more.  

Ramos Pinto 20 year old tawny is available for £29.95 at The Whisky Exchange

Stay tuned, as we visit some exquisite sherries in our next round of 18 Under 30!