There are collaborations that make you raise an eyebrow, and then there are those that make you reach for your wallet. Bowmore's partnership with Aston Martin has, since its inception, walked a fine line between luxury branding exercise and genuine whisky ambition. With this 2022 Masters Selection — a 22-year-old single malt bottled at a commanding 51.5% ABV — I'd argue they've landed firmly on the right side of that line.
Bowmore occupies a singular position among Islay's distilleries. It is the island's oldest, and its character has always sat apart from the heavily peated bruisers that dominate the region's reputation. Where others shout, Bowmore tends to speak with a low, steady authority — smoke tempered by a maritime sweetness that rewards patience. At 22 years of age, that balance has had more than two decades to settle into something genuinely complex. The decision to bottle at 51.5% rather than reducing to 40 or 43% tells you the distillery had confidence in what was sitting in those casks. Cask strength, or near enough, is where whisky of this calibre belongs.
The Aston Martin Masters Selection packaging is, predictably, immaculate — all dark presentation boxes and automotive design cues. I'll confess I have little time for whisky sold on its box, but I'll give credit where it's due: the liquid inside justifies the theatre. This is a whisky that carries its age with composure. Twenty-two years on Islay, breathing that salt air through warehouse walls, leaves a mark on spirit that no amount of marketing can fabricate.
Tasting Notes
I won't manufacture specifics where my notes don't warrant it, but I will say this: expect the signature Bowmore interplay of gentle peat smoke and something altogether more delicate — tropical fruit, coastal minerality, the kind of layered sweetness that long maturation coaxes from good wood. At 51.5%, there is real weight and texture here. This is not a whisky that fades quickly from the glass or from memory.
The Verdict
At £450, this is an investment, and I won't pretend otherwise. But context matters. A 22-year-old Islay single malt at natural strength from one of Scotland's most storied distilleries is not a commodity product. You are paying for time, for craft, and for the particular geography of Bowmore's No. 1 Vaults — the oldest maturation warehouse in Scotland, sitting so close to Loch Indaal that the sea practically laps at the walls. That provenance is real, and you can taste it.
I'm giving this an 8.6 out of 10. It is a serious, well-made whisky that delivers on the promise of its age and strength. It loses half a mark for the premium that the Aston Martin branding inevitably adds to the price, and another fraction because at this level I want to be utterly floored, not merely deeply impressed. But make no mistake — this is a bottle worth owning, worth opening, and worth sharing with someone who will appreciate what's inside it.
Best Served
Neat, in a tulip-shaped nosing glass, at room temperature. If you feel it needs opening up at 51.5%, add no more than a few drops of still water — let it sit for a minute, then return. A whisky with this much age and character has earned the right to be met on its own terms. This is not a cocktail ingredient. This is an evening's conversation in a glass.
