Bowmore 18 Years
Eighteen years of patience, and you can taste it. The smoke of Bowmore has become a whisper here; ripe fruit and dark chocolate take over. A refined, smooth whisky with a long finish and a bottle you can give as a gift with good reason.
What eighteen years does to Islay
Bowmore 18 Years is the oldest of the distillery's three permanent age statements, 12, 15, and 18 Years, at Loch Indaal. Over eighteen years, the peat smoke, which takes center stage in the 9 Years, has receded considerably. What remains is a soft, smoky whisky full of ripe fruit, with notes of mango and peach characteristic of older Bowmore, underpinned by dark chocolate and cocoa.
It is bottled at 43%, just like the 15 Years, but while the 15 focuses on sherry and raisins, the 18 is all about balance. Fruit, chocolate, and smoke keep each other in balance, and the finish lasts a long time. It is a whisky to drink neat, optionally with a drop of water or one ice cube, not to hide in a cocktail.
In brief
Ripe fruit, cocoa, and a hint of smoke
Ripe fruit
Soft and inviting: ripe tropical fruit and a light peat smoke in the background. Give the glass a minute and the fruit becomes fuller.
Dark chocolate
Refined and smooth, with dark chocolate and cocoa alongside the fruit. The smoke is present but never dominant.
Long and velvety
A long finish in which fruit, chocolate, and a final hint of smoke slowly fade away.
Bowmore 18 Years flavor profile neat at room temperature. For comparison: the 9 Years scores 4/5 for smokiness.
Tasting an old Bowmore
With an eighteen-year-old whisky, it's all about taking your time: the right glass, room temperature and time between sips.
Neat, with patience
3 to 4 cl in a tulip-shaped tasting glass. Let it stand for five minutes, smell with your mouth open and take a first small sip to acclimatize your tongue. Only with the second sip do the fruit and cocoa really emerge.
Glass: tasting glass →With one ice cube
If you prefer to drink it chilled, pour 4 cl over one large, clear ice cube in a heavy tumbler. The fruit remains prominent, while the alcohol becomes even softer.
Tumblers →A luxurious Hot Toddy
Only for truly cold evenings: 40 ml Bowmore 18, 10 ml honey, 10 ml lemon juice and 100 ml hot water in a glass with a handle. The gentle smoke and honey are a classic combination.
Hot Toddy recipe →If you still want to mix
Honestly, this bottle is best enjoyed neat. If you still want to mix it, choose cocktails with few ingredients in which the whisky itself does the talking.
Rusty Nail
Scotch with a splash of honey whisky liqueur over ice. Soft, rounded and short.
Hot Toddy
Whisky, honey, lemon and hot water. Smoke and honey belong together.
Scotch Sazerac
Whisky, sugar and bitters in a glass rinsed with anise. Crisp and aromatic.
Mint Julep
Whisky with fresh mint and sugar over crushed ice. The ripe fruit takes on a fresh edge.The right glass for Bowmore 18 Years
A tulip-shaped tasting glass is no luxury here: it keeps the fruit and smoke together. For on the rocks, use a heavy tumbler, and for a Toddy, a glass with a handle.
More Bowmore flavours
Bowmore
Where it began. On the brand page, you can read all about Bowmore: its origins, varieties and classic cocktails.
To Bowmore →
Bowmore 9 Years
Young Islay from sherry casks: smoke with dried fruit and chocolate. A good introduction neat, and great in cocktails.
View Bowmore 9 Years →
Bowmore 15 Years
Three years of Oloroso give it a dark, warm character: raisin, chocolate and toffee with soft peat. For after dinner.
View Bowmore 15 Years →
Bowmore 21 Years Sherry Cask
Twenty-one years in sherry casks: smoke, sherry and ripe fruit, with molasses and tobacco. For a special occasion.
View Bowmore 21 Years Sherry Cask →Questions about Bowmore 18 Years
Didn't find your question here? Read more on the Bowmore page or check out our cocktail recipes.
All about Bowmore →