This arrived in the post this week. It’s a lovely Easter package courtesy of Bowmore. The famous Islay distillery has teamed up with chocolatier Montezuma to make some special whisky-infused treats, based on the Bowmore Small Batch and 15 Years Old ‘Darkest’.
I actually tasted the two whiskies in the Bowmore Twitter tasting from a while back, where my thoughts on the drams were:
Small Batch Reserve – 40% ABV
On the nose: Malted barley seems prominent. Young, lively. Sensual, creamy, citrusy, briny, but yes, a very malty aroma. It reminds me of the Laddie Islay Barley whiskies, or their Organic perhaps In the mouth: All of that cereal logically comes through on the tongue. Zippy. Really tasty malty stuff. Wood showing there. Black pepper. A wild and rugged (and very seafaring) Islay youth? With gentle charms, though.
15 Year Old – Darkest 43% ABV
On the Nose: Now that is interesting. A smokey fruit salad. Grapes, pears, but very understated. Smouldering campfire at the end of the night. Coastal. In the mouth: A superbly balanced dram – a perfect marriage of sweetness and peat. Bitter chocolate, sultanas, raisins, chewy, cigar, spices. Citrus and brine again. A medium weight in the mouth, which brings everything together so well.
Now I’ve tried whisky chocolates before – dead posh ones from Hotel Chocolat, as well as cheap and nasty ones elsewhere – and they’ve never been any good. There’s something way too intense about the flavour, a kind of misplaced bitterness each time. But these Bowmore-Montezuma chocolates are actually very, very nice. They genuinely taste different, too – the Small Batch chocolate being just a fraction maltier, nuttier, a little rawer, with a nice touch of salt; and the ‘Darkest’ being… a bit more about the rich fruit notes, quite syrupy. I actually preferred the Small Batch chocolate to the Darkest, the other way around to how I preferred the whiskies. Rather than just bung whisky in to the bars, I suspect Montezuma tailored their recipe to embrace the spirit of each dram, if you see what I mean, and it’s worked well.
Anyway, I’m not sure for how long these will be available – or even, at the moment, where from. Maybe the distillery shop? Either way, I’ll keep you posted if these become more widely available, but I can say that these are the first whisky-infused chocolates that are actually any good. It’s like someone’s actually thought about it, you know?
Hello, I have big interest to buy the Bowmore Small Batch miniature, is this possible about you? Thank you for your help and nice regards from Germany: Walter
Hello Walter – apologies for the delay. As for the miniatures, I’m afraid I’m not sure where to get any. Perhaps the English chain, The Whisky Shop, will have some, or perhaps Masters of Malt?