Whisky review: Battlehill Bowmore 8 Year

I picked this bottle up at the local Total Wine and More after hearing phenomenal things about it through the grapevine. It's an independent bottling done for Total Wine by a company under the name of "Battlehill," which appears to actually be Duncan Taylor. I'm normally not a big fan of Bowmore's whiskies, but at $38 a bottle, the recommendations for this one were too strong to let it pass me by.

Bowmore is a distillery on Islay, the Scottish island known for producing smoky, peaty whiskies. Bowmore is also one of the most heavily-collected brands of whisky in the world, as they have produced some very exclusive bottlings and have a strong following. Like I said, though, their product has never really hit me as being exceptional.

Battlehill Bowmore 8 Year, 43% ABV

Single malt Scotch whisky (Islay)

Nose: Grassy, medicinal, and a little sweet. Reminds me of the Laphroaig 15 Year.

Palate: Follows the nose with grass, then turns to heavier coal and peat. A hint of that Bowmore "Fisherman's Friend" character that Jim Murray often mentions, but not nearly as much as in some of the distillery bottlings I've had.

Finish: Full-bodied peat and smoke with some lingering sweetness. A good warming effect.

Rating (of 100): 90. This comes through with a nice amount of peat and doesn't overdo it on the sweetness - it's like a mix between the Laphroaig 15 nose and the Laphroaig 10 palate. (Sorry, I'm a Laphroaig fan...) For the price, it's an outstanding bottling, and a damn good one regardless of price. Maybe I need to pay more attention to this distillery, or at least to this bottler.

This is what whisky is all about

While home with my family in Wisconsin, I was able to enjoy a few drams (and by a few, I mean a few dozen). One of the best experiences I had was introducing my brother Scott, who is two years my younger, to Bowmore and Highland Park single malts. Though we did do the formal tasting of the whiskies, we also were able to just kick back, relax, and enjoy some drams in Scott's backyard hot tub while enjoying the tropical winter Wisconsin weather.

Having a dram with my brother, Scott, in his hot tub in Wisconsin. The white specks are snowflakes.

At the end of the day, you can nose and taste all you want, but it's the experience around the whisky that really makes it memorable.