Bowmore 9 Years
The youngest Bowmore in the core range, and perhaps the most versatile. Peat smoke with dried fruit and chocolate from the sherry casks, and a salty edge: neat, it's a great introduction to Islay, while in a sour or highball it's a whisky you can taste without it taking over everything.
Nine years of Islay, ready to mix
Bowmore 9 Years comes from the same distillery on Loch Indaal as the rest of the range, the oldest on Islay. It matures for nine years, notably in sherry casks. This creates a whisky with robust peat smoke on top of dried fruit and chocolate, with a spicy, lightly salty character.
What sets it apart from its older siblings is mainly its energy. Where the smoke gives way to tropical fruit in the 18 Years, the 9 is direct: young, smoky and sweeter than the 12 Years because of the sherry. That makes it less of a whisky to ponder for a long time and more of a bottle you open for a Whisky Sour, a Penicillin or a long highball. At 40%, it has the same strength as the 12 Years.
In brief
Smoke up front, with sherry fruit and chocolate behind it
Peat and dried fruit
Robust peat smoke that immediately stands out, underpinned by dried fruit from the sherry casks. Younger and livelier than the 12 Years.
Powerful and spicy
A powerful, smoky flavor with spice, dried fruit, chocolate and a lightly salty edge. The sherry casks provide a rounded, sweet foundation.
Salty and warming
Smoke and sea salt linger, with a final hint of chocolate. Robust enough to hold its own in a cocktail.
Flavor profile of Bowmore 9 Years neat. Sweeter than the 12 Years because of the sherry; with a splash of water or in a highball, the smoke becomes lighter.
How to get the most out of the 9 Years
This Bowmore does not need to be handled carefully. Neat, it is a good Islay lesson, but it is just as well suited to ice, bubbles and lemon.
Smoky highball
40 ml Bowmore 9 Years in a tall glass filled with ice, topped up with 120 ml cold soda water. Stir once and squeeze a strip of lemon peel over the top. The smoke becomes light and fresh.
Highball recipe →Tasting alongside the 12 Years
Pour 3 cl of the 9 and 3 cl of the 12 Years into two tasting glasses side by side. You can immediately taste what the sherry casks and younger age contribute: more dried fruit and chocolate, and more direct smoke.
Glass: tasting glass →As a Whisky Sour
50 ml Bowmore 9 Years, 25 ml fresh lemon juice, 15 ml sugar syrup and one egg white. First dry shake, then shake with ice, and strain into a chilled coupe or over ice in a tumbler.
Whisky Sour recipe →Cocktails with Bowmore 9 Years
Because the 9 Years is young and bold, you can use it as the complete base instead of only as a smoky float.
Smoky Whisky Sour
Whisky, lemon, sugar and egg white. The peat gives the foam a smoky aroma.
Penicillin
Lemon, honey and ginger, with Islay whisky floated on top. The 9 Years can also be used in the base here.
Highball
Whisky with ice-cold soda water. The simplest way to make smoke refreshing.
Smoky Old Fashioned
Whisky, a sugar cube and bitters over one large ice cube.The right glass for Bowmore 9 Years
A tulip-shaped tasting glass for drinking neat, a tall highball glass for a highball and a heavy tumbler or coupe for a sour.
More Bowmore flavors
Bowmore
Where it all began. On the brand page, you'll find everything about Bowmore: origins, varieties and classic cocktails.
Go to Bowmore →
Bowmore 15 Years
Three years of Oloroso make it dark and warm: raisin, chocolate and toffee with soft peat. For after dinner.
View Bowmore 15 Years →
Bowmore 18 Years
Soft and refined: ripe fruit and dark chocolate, with the smoke whispering in the background.
View Bowmore 18 Years →
Bowmore 21 Years Sherry Cask
Twenty-one years in sherry casks: smoke, sherry and ripe fruit, with molasses and tobacco. For a special occasion.
View Bowmore 21 Years Sherry Cask →Questions about Bowmore 9 Years
Can't find your question here? Read more on the Bowmore page or check out our cocktail recipes.
Everything about Bowmore →