Unfortunately, neither Tinker Bell nor Harry Potter can do anything to help this latest release from Bowman. I'll caveat once again, this is my impression only; I leave final judgement up to those that drink it and come to their own determination. I have friend in MD that loves this stuff.....he says the more heat and wood the better.
This latest release from Bowman is cask strength at 147.5 pf and 17 years old. Color is a golden hue with shades of amber. Nose is actually interesting giving up caramel and barrel notes but the heat really gets in the way of doing proper nosing.
First taste is nothing but heat that attacks the palate first thing which masks any flavor components on the front end of the sip. As the heat subsides around mid palate, there's hints of burnt sugar, wood and a bitter note that detracts from the overall profile. From mid palate to finish, it's rather flat and one dimensional. I added water taking it down to about 100 pf and while there's a touch of sweetness that pops up, the heat is still way too dominate to enjoy.
Bowman released an 18 year last year and it's fantastic. In a previous post, I blogged about our 14 year old barrel pick and that one is also fantastic so I had fairly high expectations of this 17 year. Unfortunately, it's really not a bourbon I would add to my bunker nor drink. I hate to be this critical of this bourbon but that's the way I taste it and my taster typically doesn't steer me wrong.
I revisited this bourbon a couple of times and it's just not going to get any better. If you enjoy heat and wood, go for this bottle. Other than that, I would recommend the big bypass on this one. It's just too one dimensional to invest nearly $70 for a bottle.
Damn, that's disappointing to hear. I find that your picks and recommendations usually fall in line with the type of bourbon/rye I like to drink. You led me to last year's Abraham which is great stuff and the bottle of John J which I think I like even more.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be working my way down to Norfolk from Philly and plan to pit stop at the Bowman facility. I hope to pick up a bottle or 2 of John J to bring back.
Steve - Like I said, that was my impression only. When others in our group tasted this release, they pretty much had the same impressions. The standard John J is actually a decent whiskey. I picked up a couple while at Bowman last October. John J being a single barrel will of course have variances between releases. For me, when selecting a bourbon, I look for big entry, sweet, low heat, good transitions from front to back and a long finish. To me, if there's one component like wood or heat that play a dominant role, I find that to be an overall negative.
DeleteI hear ya loud and clear. I enjoy higher proof whiskeys but don't like when whiskey is too hot and that heat masks all the flavor hidden beneath it.
DeleteI've come to the same conclusion with my bottle of TPS 17 year Bowman (147.7 proof, distilled 12-14-94, bottled 3-26-12). Too hot.
ReplyDeleteTucker - too bad as TPS has actually done some decent Bowmans. Of course the TPS you have is a single barrel while the 17 year is batched. I was actually surprised that it was as hot as it was being a batched bourbon; typically those types of things get smoothed out when dealing with a multi barrel dump.
DeleteAfter a couple months, splitting it into two bottles, AND leaving the cork off the top of said bottles, the TPS 17 Bowman is finally approaching something akin to drinkable.
DeleteAt this point (by "this point," I mean this Saturday morning along with brunch), I've been drinking it with a big ice cube in a Glencairn and it is much less a trip into the inferno.
But I swear, after two months and drastic air measures, it's getting there. Still I'm more than a little miffed that it's taken all this work to get from quasi-undrinkable to pretty good.
I'll have to score some of the John J in order to get a better sense of the profile and come back to this in a month or two. I'll also take one of the two I split and bring it down to 110-120 or so. I think one thing is for sure: this one needs water.
I'll take the contrary view. I picked up a bottle of the Abraham Bowman 17 year here in Montgomery County MD. My first taste is today, and I am favorably impressed. I sipped some at the bottle proof. It was as explosive as you'd expect for a whiskey in excess of 70% alcohol, but full of pleasant flavors - oak, for sure, but with a dash of the more traditional sweet flavors (caramel and vanilla), plus something in a second wave of flavor that tastes like sugared plums...to me, at least.
ReplyDeleteThen I mixed 50 ml of whiskey with about 30ml of tap water for sipping. I am really having a pleasant time with it. It has a couple different layers of flavor, not too sweet, some mint and cloves, some (I say this with a bit of embarrassment for liking it so much) root beer.
I am all-in on this bottle.
Thanks very much for posting your thoughts and I always enjoy reading "contrary views" when they differ from mine.
ReplyDeleteHad a great visit at this distillery this week. Truman Cox is doing things the right way and I enjoyed a candid conversation with him in their makeshift gift shop. Hard to believe there are only 6 people running this operation. Picked up another bottle of John J Bowman and Bowman Brothers too. Love the John J.
ReplyDelete