Bowmore 9yo Fèis Ìle 2026 & Little Brown Dog Bowmore 2015 11yo

Bowmore 9yo Fèis Ìle 2026

Region: Islay

ABV: 55.4%

Price: £130.00

Distilled on the 27th May 2016 and matured in a Pedro Ximénez sherry seasoned Spanish oak cask, this single cask Bowmore was bottled for the Fèis Ìle 2026 celebrations. Made using 100% floor-malted barley, it was sold exclusively at the distillery on Bowmore Open Day, 27 May 2026, with an outturn of 641 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with dark fruits, black cherry, plums, rum and raisin cake, lots of ginger spice and a handful of brandy snaps. There's a smoke behind this, but the overwhelming sherry influence is making it quite hard to distinguish - it's acting more as a charred oak sort of smoke rather than typical soft peat smoke that we'd usually get from Bowmore. Time and air brings more red fruit now, slightly gentler, smoked strawberries and cherry jam.

Palate

The palate opens with sour plums, black cherries, a little ground cinnamon and a lot more smoke than was on the nose. The smoke is more in line with barbecue, we're getting tangy barbecue sauce, ground ginger and some toffee apple. The mouthfeel is ok, there's a syrupiness here, and the finish lingers on for a good length, mostly plum and dates, a little brown sugar, with a savoury smoke in the background. There's a bit of chili heat here, although it's more of a sweet chili-like warmth. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose brings out an earthier, dunnage warehouse style character to the dram - still full on sherry, but some mould on walls and earthen floors. Some of those darker fruits have lightened, it's lost some of the overly rich aromas but there's plenty of lighter fruits that have taken their places.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate is a little zippier, more acid up front, but moves into a drier, more astringent finish.. we're puckering our cheeks as we finish a sip. The sweetness feels like it's fallen off, and now it's dry salt and smoke. We preferred it without water.

Conclusion

Bucketloads of sherry on top of a lightly peated whisky - this will tick the box for a large number of people. For us it seems a little too much - the nose is quite subtle but the palate punches you in the face with smoke and sherry. It's a good dram, just a tad out of balance for us, but still quite tasty.

Score: 6.5/10

Value

Definitely too expensive, but then most the festival bottles are.

Little Brown Dog Bowmore 2015 11yo

Region: Islay

ABV: 58.3%

Price: £75.00

Distilled on the 23rd February 2015 and bottled on the 5th May 2026 after 11 years of maturation, this Little Brown Dog Bowmore was drawn from a bourbon barrel that had been filled from a vatting of a parcel of Bowmore. The outturn was 272 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with an initial hit of savoury, salty peat, grilled chicken thighs, toasted almond flakes, miso paste, and a little salted caramel in the background. Initially the nose was a little tight, however after 5 minutes, it really opened up and we're getting much more fruit now - tons of soft peach aromas, a few mango segments, yuzu, and tinned pineapple rings - quite tropical in profile overall. The alcohol is nicely balanced, there's not much bite at all - very gentle spice.

Palate

The palate opens with more sweetness than expected, lots of icing sugar and candied lemon peel, moving into almond paste, toffee pennies and a savoury peat smoke that really lingers on into the finish. Tinned peaches, mandarin orange segments and fizzy apple sweeties appear on subsequent sips.. and the peach note really begins to take over as the palate develops. There's a bit of heat coming through on the palate - more of a chili spice. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose hasn't changed too much, but somehow the aromas feel a little more integrated in the sense that each nosing gives a lot of savoury and sweet sensations intermingled with each other. Chicken, peaches, mandarins and soft peat smoke are all still very much present. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate hasn't changed too much, the sweet and savoury flavours are all still there, and the underlying chili heat hasn't softened much. The peaches are definitely out in full force too.

Conclusion

Quite a unique Bowmore - the LBD guys were spot on with the savoury chicken character of the dram, but there's a lovely fruitiness that compliments these saltier flavours and aromas. That's the magic of single cask whisky. A tad warm on the palate, but a cracking whisky. 

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Good price for some Islay peat.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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