Bowmore 1990 Douglas of Drumlanrig 18 Year Old 75cl / US Import

Langside Distillers started out as a blending company in the 1970s, producing Scotch brands such as B&B, Glen Drumm and John Player Special. They moved into the business of bottling independent single malts with their Douglas of Drumlanrig label in the 2000s, before becoming a subsidiary of Hunter Laing in 2013. Nowadays they produce its Distiller’s Art and Hepburn’s Choice bottlings.

Part of the Douglas of Drumlanrig range, this Bowmore was distilled in May 1990 and bottled in September 2008. A bourbon cask, it yielded just 150 bottles.

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.