New Release: BOWMORE 26 Year Old Official THE VINTNER’S TRILOGY 48.7%

A new series release with an intriguing flavor profile. BOWMORE 26 Year Old Official Bottling THE VINTNER'S TRILOGY 48.7% The aroma features berry and plum jam, tropical fruits like ripe pineapple, seaweed-like brininess, seafood dashi, and a dominant peaty smokiness. On the palate, it begins with a smooth texture, revealing rich plum jam and concentrated pineapple sweetness, though slightly sluggish and flat. There's a mild herbal liqueur bitterness, plum jam acidity, savory seafood dashi umami, and a lingering peatiness despite its lack of thickness. [Good/Very Good] Recently, BOWMORE released three variants under the THE VINTNER'S TRILOGY label, aged in different wine casks. In addition to this 26-year-old bottling, there are also 18-year-old (Mansano) and 27-year-old (Port) versions. This 26-year-old was aged for 13 years in a bourbon cask, followed by 13 years in wine casks. I recall seeing barrels from Château Lagrange (owned by Suntory) at the BOWMORE distillery. While there may have been experimental elements, this seems like a long-planned project. Calculating backward, the original spirit was likely distilled around 1991. The core flavor has a concentrated jam-like fruitiness reminiscent of sherry cask influence, while also showcasing BOWMORE's characteristic tropical fruits. It exhibits the briny seaweed notes and dashi-like umami typical of Islay malts, alongside a strong peat presence. While the sweetness carries wine cask characteristics of sluggishness and flatness, it also offers a diverse range of fruity aromas, astringent bitterness to balance the sweetness, and savory umami for an enjoyable experience. Though the original spirit's character is present, the cask influence dominates more than expected for BOWMORE. Priced at £400, it's expensive but perhaps unavoidable considering recent price surges for Islay malts and official bottlings.