BOWMORE 1994-2008 14yo BBR Retro Label for La Maison du Whisky #1685 54.5%

It's clearly matured. BOWMORE BOWMORE 1994-2008 14yo BBR retro label for La Maison du Whisky #1685 54.5% The aroma is rich, with sherry notes reminiscent of the past, pineapple, juice-like freshness, espresso, orange, an earthy quality like leaf mold and leather, with some iodine and a strong peaty smokiness. When drinking, it has a smooth, mellow mouthfeel with pineapple, plum, passion fruit, sweet depth from tannins, leather and leaf mold, seaweed-like brininess, fish stock dashi, and a long smoky fruity finish. 【Very Good】 This is BOWMORE 1994, bottled by BBR in 2008 for La Maison du Whisky, aged for 14 years. I had previously opened and written about it at home, and this bottle left me in awe due to the remarkable changes after bottling. This time as well, it's fruity, peaty, and earthy, with its diversity making the tasting enjoyable. Yet, it's a mysterious malt that makes you want to simply immerse yourself in its deliciousness without thinking, and it was indeed wonderful. As mentioned when discussing new releases, it's been nearly a decade since its release... Unusually, I've featured the same bottle multiple times. What I want to emphasize here is that finally, the changes in unopened bottles have caught up with those observed after opening. I've previously written that observing changes after opening can help predict how unopened bottles might change over long-term storage, and this bottle is a perfect example of that. From its 2008 release, for at least several years, newly opened bottles had sulfury elements and mushroom-like off-flavors. These gradually dissipated as the bottle absorbed air, reaching a peak in my home after 1.5 years where only 1/5 of the original off-flavors remained, resulting in an exceptional aroma. This time, however, it's been approximately 9 years unopened. From the moment of opening, there were almost no off-flavors detected, and it felt like it was just a short step away from the intoxicating unity of the peak experienced after 1.5 years. Compared to the forced peak achieved through post-opening changes, reaching a peak while still unopened would likely minimize the loss of aroma and body. Thus, I now feel nearly certain that this unopened bottle will become legendary in flavor after another 10 years or so. There are many times when I can't help but ask the masters and whisky enthusiasts who came before me about what these bottles tasted like at their release. Comparing their stories with the present has led to much consideration. Bottles that I personally tasted repeatedly and seriously at their release, like this one, have clearly changed through aging. Being able to taste and verify these changes myself is still rare at my level. Even among bottles from the same 2008 bottling, some types change more than others. This time, however, it's a bottle that clearly changed, and being able to verify this was deeply satisfying. This is truly the ultimate joy for a malt enthusiast.