I continue to discover Islay. Its a shame that I still do not know one of the oldest distilleries of Scotland - Bowmore. And for the first time I decided to jump over the top of the official line, as well as NAS releases for Duty Free and chose Darkest, which I wanted to try for a long time. And so: the first 12 years aging in bourbon barrels, then 3 years in barrels from under sherry Oloroso.
Color: dark amber with a reddish tint. Beautiful, but, unfortunately, repainted.
Aroma: very complex. In the foreground, the smoke of the fire intertwines with the marine theme - iodine, dried seaweed on the shore, smoked fish. And then a lot of sherry and confectionery notes, wilted tropical fruits, exotic spices, buckwheat honey and bitter chocolate. Wow, salivation is off scale!
Taste: surprisingly dry. Smoke, iodine, spices, dried fruits. The drink is of medium density, quite oily.
Aftertaste: long, pleasantly-smoky, mint-oak, bitter chocolate and spices.
Conclusion: In general, Darkest did not disappoint me, and despite the fact that the balance is not its strong side - it is, nevertheless, a very good and tasty Bowmore with a wonderful aroma, the bottle of which literally "flew away". I took this bottle for quite acceptable price of $ 55.