Bowmore 2000 Whisky Sponge 20 Year Old Edition No.12

Islay’s oldest working distillery, Bowmore was established in 1779 and is now regarded as one of the most popular malts not only on Islay, but in the whole of Scotland. The distillery was acquired by Stanley P. Morrison in 1963, ushering in an era of iconic single malts, including the legendary Black Bowmore, credited by many as the genesis of whisky collecting, bottled in 1993. The distillery was bought under the control Suntory the year after (they had been stakeholders since 1989), and it remains one of the most collectible brands in Scotch whisky today. Bowmore is one of the few remaining Scottish distilleries to use its own floor maltings, providing them with 40% of their requirements. The unique microclimate in their iconic No.1 vaults shares very little with the angels, meaning casks are readily available for independent labels like this, many of which are spectacular.

This was distilled in 2000 and matured in a first-fill ex-bourbon cask by Signatory Vintage before bottling in 2020. The cask was selected by Copper Monument (nowadays known as Decadent Drinks) as the 12th bottling in their collaboration with the Whisky Sponge blog.

One of 172 bottles.