New Release: Bowmore 2002 11 Year Old The Whisky Agency Three Rivers & The Auld Alliance Collaboration Bottle

This vintage was quite good in this area. Bowmore BOWMORE 2002-2014 11yo THE WHISKY AGENCY with THREE RIVERS & THE AULD ALLIANCE 57.8% one of 322 bottles, Refill Hogshead The aroma features citrus notes like orange and grapefruit, passion fruit, creaminess, a pleasant malty character without prickliness, strong sharp peat. Upon drinking, there is a clear sweetness and acidity of tropical fruits like passion fruit and citrus, unexpectedly rich body, strong peat, some alcohol sensation but also slightly oily with a long finish. [Good/Very Good] New release Bowmore 2002, 11-year-old. A collaboration bottle between The Agency, Three Rivers, and Singapore's The Auld Alliance. The aroma offers a variety of fruits, with tropical elements characteristic of Bowmore, and the peat is well-presented. Despite being a short maturation, the lack of prickliness was impressive. When drinking, the tropical character typical of Bowmore is clearly evident, with the peat remaining strong. While some youthfulness is detectable, there were no paper-like or unpleasant green vegetal notes. The presence of body and long finish was also a positive impression. In recent short-matured Bowmores distilled after 2000, I often find some degree of paper-like or unpleasant planty characteristics, but this bottle was an exception. Despite my caution, it's evident that the carefully selected cask made a significant difference, resulting in a favorable Bowmore with few of my usual disliked elements. The fruitiness is stronger compared to similar specifications, without lightness, and the balance between peat and fruits as an Islay malt was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed this whisky.