Scotland, Isle of Islay. Distillery operational. Owner: Beam - Suntory

Located on the Isle of Islay, in the heart of the village of the same name, in 1963 Bowmore became, under the aegis of Stanley P. Morrison (owner of the distillery until it was bought by the Japanese company Suntory in 1994), one of the greatest commercial successes in the Scotch whisky industry. Vault #1, responsible for some of its greatest releases, including Bowmore 30 Year Old 1963 and Bowmore Bicentenary, played an important role in forging its international reputation. Built below sea level against a natural dyke, its walls and beaten earth floors are constantly steeped in sea spray. Rooted in tradition, Bowmore is one of the last remaining distilleries to malt part of its own barley on-site. Whether matured in bourbon casks (White Bowmore 1964) or sherry casks (Black Bowmore 1964), its spirit, characterized by notes of liquorice, peat and eucalyptus, never fails to reveal the trademark hint of exotic fruit for which the distillery is known.

A single cask Bowmore (#3841) distilled in 1974 and bottled at cask strength in 2012, matured in a hogshead. This bottling was part of the Artist range, created by La Maison du Whisky in 2011. Every year, a team from La Maison du Whisky visits Edradour to select casks from various distilleries from the vaults of Signatory Vintage. These casks are bottled at cask strength, without chill filtration or colouring. The range is organized into five-year age brackets, such as Over 5 Year Old and Over 10 Year Old. The labels for the range are produced by a different artist every year. The labels for the second Artist range were created by Paola Parés. She depicts famous whisky bars from around the world, in this case Whisky Paradise in Bologna. A limited edition of 150 bottles.