Taking my first step into Islay whiskey with my whiskey journey.. I found this to be a light friendly gentle balanced smoke/peat with a touch of sweet. Not a challenging whiskey to drink but will definitely have the Bowmore 12 always on my shelf. Great value and price.

I love Islay smoke, and am “touring” the island. This is not smokey, but as long as it was salty, I figured it was worth trying. But, though there is peat vegetation in it, there is no real sea-side character. But look, on the upside, it didn’t give me a hangover (and it’s not vodka), so I’m definitely glad I satisfied my curiosity and added to my knowledge of what I consider to be far and away the best Scotch region!

I usually enjoy typical Speyside and Highland malts like Aberlour 12, Glenlivet 12, Glenfarclas 12, Dalwhinnie 15 and also Talisker 10. I never enjoyed Laphroaig or Lagavulin but I wanted to explore anothe Islay option. Enter Bowmore. It has the not so in your face peat of Talisker, but the sherry profile of Glenfarclas. If you enjoy either of them or both, I think this is your next best bet. Likely my new favourite at this stage. Sláinte!

Had it for Father's day and really enjoyed every single sip of it...smiling all the time.

I regularly recommend the Bowmore 12 to anybody and everybody interested in getting into the peated offerings of the Islay region. The Bowmore 12 is on the lighter side of peat and a perfect combination of sweet and smooth. The honey is probably the strongest flavour, with a light smoke that makes for a very easy and pleasurable experience. It's not as strong and flavourful as a Laphroaig 10, Lagavulin 16 or Ardberg An Ao, but an excellent drink nonetheless. Recommended if you're after a high quality light peat. At $75 a bottle, it's great value.

A disappointing drop owing to the heavy smokey peat that impedes other textures.