The Gold Completes The Trilogy

I've been so looking forward to The Bowmore Dinner. It is the night I get to sample the last of Bowmore's Trilogy- the Gold.

I was a very happy girl when the first drink served was a bottle of Dom Perignon 2000. Then, the table simply couldn't tear itself away from the Bowmore 25 y.o. For the purpose of refreshing the palate for tasting, I chose still water over sparkling to accompany the dinner.

I'm not inclined to share the full menu that is specifically arranged and intended to complement the different years of Bowmore whisky. Les Amis' Chef Armin has worked really hard to create this 4-course whisky dinner that is on par with the finest restaurants in the world.

The pairing that I enjoyed the most was the Bowmore 15 y.o with the slow cooked Atlantic salmon with braised leeks and white truffle foam. Those truffles went superb with the characteristic peat of the Bowmore 15 y.o. Very invigorating. The dish that went strangely with the Bowmore 18 y.o was the chargrilled Black Angus beef entrecôte, mushrooms, spinach and pommes maxim. The beef was too robust for the placid Bowmore 18 y.o. imho, I think the Chef could have chosen a cut of ribeye or wagyu where the fattier meats would have better complemented the mellow single malt.

The casks of the Gold Bowmore are aged below sea level in Bowmore’s coastal cellar – the Number 1 vault. The oldest of them all, this Gold Bowmore is the third and final release of the 3 limited editions:

- Black Bowmore – 827 Bottles Released in 2007
- White Bowmore – 732 Bottles Released in 2008
- Gold Bowmore – 701 Bottles Released in Fall 2009

Out of the 701 bottles (retail) of Gold Bowmore released worldwide, Singapore has been allocated 20 bottles. The 44-year old single malt whisky is surprisingly not peaty. There is only a light trace of Bowmore's trademark peat. Upon nosing, there was plenty of curiosity. The moment the whisky touched the lips, the exclamations began.

Well aware of how the Black and White Bowmore tasted, we knew the Gold wouldn't deviate from its recurrent theme of tropical fruits. The tasting notes declared that the aromas would remind us of vanilla, papaya and passionfruit. But we decided to chuck those aside and create our own. While the western hemisphere might struggle to find descriptions for the flavors, tonight's table had no such issues.

"Very 'lemak'!" yelled one. We chortled. Only in Singapore. Truly, there was this coconut tone somewhere. "Mango, cassis, ribena!" Another proffered. I frowned. There was something strikingly familiar. It was a fruit I had eaten just the night before. "Pomelo," I pronounced. "Pink!" And yes, the table agreed that while guava and lychee flavors stood out strongly for the White Bowmore, pomelo seemed to be the underlying taste of the Gold.

At the end of the evening, I am totally wowed by the subtlety and strength of the Gold Bowmore. Thanks, Joyce and Khoon, for the gracious invitation to such a beautiful evening.