What Does John Know?

I don’t normally announce when I’m going to taste a new whisky. But then again, they usually don’t cost $4,500 and carry such a legendary name as “Black Bowmore.”

This Monday, in New York City, I’ll be with Iain McCallum, Bowmore’s Whiskymaker, and Jimmy Robertson, Bowmore’s U.S. Brand Ambassador. The purpose of our meeting is to taste the new Black Bowmore, which is about to be introduced.  They tell me that I’ll be the first one in the U.S. to taste this whisky. So, now you know why I am counting the days.

I still fondly recall the original Black Bowmore trio, distilled the same time as this new release, on November 6, 1964. Those were bottled in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Back then, a bottle only cost around $300–or at least that’s what I paid in Chicago for my bottle of the first release.

That bottle is long gone now. I remember the night I opened it. My wife was watching the Tony awards, and we were in a very boring stretch of it. It was sort of a spontaneous thing. I still don’t know why I picked that bottle, but I did. And I put a decent dent into it. (The show ran late.)

I loved that whisky so much, the night I opened it was the only time I ever drank it alone. From then on, I always shared it. It was the proper thing to do.

So here we are,  more than a dozen years later. Bowmore decides to release a 42 year old version from the same lot. And I have the privilege to taste it. How will it taste? As good as the original three? Better? Worse? I don’t have any more from my original bottle, so, unless there is a collector/drinker out there who has a sample and wants to send it to me, I will have to rely on memory. (The distillery doesn’t even have samples from the original bottlings for us to compare.)

So I will have to bide my time until then. I think I can find one or two things to drink in the meantime to keep me entertained. But I can’t help getting a bit excited about the whole thing.

Naturally, I will pass on my thoughts to you right here when I get back to my hotel room that night–or the first thing the next morning if the evening goes a little late. (I get this feeling that there will be additional Bowmore whiskies to drink that night, and I don’t want to get a TUI–typing while under the influence.) 

Finally, after the limited releases of Very Young, Still Young, Almost There, and the other whiskies leading up to a 10 year old Ardbeg distilled–and bottled–by the current owners, our wait is over.

Ardbeg will be releasing, in equally limited quantities, a 10 year old (definitely there!) cask strength Ardbeg in the very near future, which they’re calling Renaissance.

I spent two hours today with Dr. Bill Lumsden, the master behind all the Glenmorangie and Ardbeg creations. Yes, we went through all the new Glenmorangie whiskies (I’ll save that for a later date–lots of good stuff), but I just want to focus on this new Ardbeg today.

[Side note: I'm a lucky guy. Not only do I get to spend time with brilliant people like Bill, but he pulls out cool whiskies like this from his 200ml sample bottles that he brings over in his luggage. I am fortunate to taste this with him months before it gets bottled.]

The verdict of this Ardbeg? Great stuff. I love an Islay whisky that balances its smoky notes and brash youthfulness with a soothing sweetness, and this is a great example. The whisky is aged exclusively in first-fill bourbon barrels, which contributes to this whisky’s sweet, vanilla underbelly.

Bill told me that the ABV may change slightly by the time it gets bottled, but you get my point here. Track down a bottle and get one if you are an Ardbeg enthusiast–or just love smoky whiskies. Bill eluded to the fact that it might be an “Ardbeg Committee Only” bottling (check their website at www.ardbeg.com for more information). The logistics, and the whisky’s price, is still up in the air. But, you now have a mission.