Craft Spirits
Capturing “the true essence of Bowmore”
Suntory Global Spirits has revealed two whisky collections from its Bowmore brand, including a travel retail-exclusive series called the Bowmore Appellations Collection.
The releases, which will be available from October, are part of Bowmore’s broader strategy to elevate and premiumise its single malt whisky offerings. It will debut at key global travel retail hubs, starting with London Heathrow and Singapore Changi airports.
The Bowmore Appellations Collection is born from a collaboration with some of the world’s most renowned wine-producing regions. The collection features four distinct whiskies, finished variously in casks from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Douro Valley — showcasing the interplay between Bowmore’s Islay roots and European terroirs.
The Bowmore 14 Year Old is matured in American oak ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Bordeaux barriques. The whisky offers a vibrant character with smoky and orchard fruit aromas, enhanced by berry sweetness.
The Bowmore 16 Year Old is a rich and complex whisky matured in a combination of American oak ex-Bourbon and European oak Sherry casks, with a finish in Ruby Port casks from the Douro Valley.
The Bowmore 19 Year Old is finished in Pinot Noir casks from Burgundy, delivering a subtly smoky and well-rounded character with toasted and caramelised notes.
The Bowmore 22 Year Old is matured in American oak ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Sauternes casks. It is described as sweet with fruity undertones, offering unprecedented complexity.
“Travel retail is a key showroom for our global brands, and I am very proud that we are able to offer our retail partners such an exceptional new channel-exclusive collection,” comments Suntory Global Spirits Brand Marketing Director Global Travel Retail Manuel González.
“Bowmore Appellations is a very special series, a showcase for the multi-dimensional Bowmore spirit and the different terroirs celebrated through these expressions.”
Bowmore Marketing Director Kirsteen Beeston adds: “We have a duty of care as custodians of this incredible distillery to best reflect and capture the true essence of Bowmore out of both respect to all that has been achieved so far but equally out of a desire to ensure we honour the spirit as we know it today.
“As such we made the decision to evolve the world which surrounds the brand across brand creative experience and innovation.”
Separately, the Bowmore Sherry Oak Collection — launching in domestic markets from September — emphasises the role of European oak Sherry casks in developing depth and flavour. This collection includes a 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 18 Year Old, and 21 Year Old, each designed to highlight different dimensions of Bowmore’s signature style. The Sherry Oak range will be rolled out to major cities including London, Paris, Toronto and Munich.
The new collections are part of a broader initiative to reflect the evolving story of Bowmore, which is approaching its 250th anniversary. The reimagined packaging and design, inspired by Bowmore’s rich heritage, will also be extended across the brand’s permanent portfolio starting in 2025.
Assessing Bowmore’s next chapter
“This is the culmination of the journey that Bowmore has been on over the last two years, where we’ve been doing a bit of self-reflection.”
So says Bowmore Global Marketing Manager Ekaterina Kolesnik as she discusses the thinking behind the Bowmore Appellations and Bowmore Sherry Cask collections. “Bowmore has been around since 1779 and the whisky itself is exceptionally expressive and ages like no other.
“However, we felt that our visual world and our packaging, could better reflect what was inside the bottle and help Bowmore reach the next level of ambition that we have for the brand. This year, we are revealing our new Bowmore positioning, which centres on our whisky DNA. With travel retail being such an important channel for Bowmore, we launched Bowmore Appellations, a whole new travel retail-exclusive range. This is supported by Bowmore Sherry Cask, our domestic-exclusive launch.
“Whisky is our centrepiece. We are supporting these launches with a colourful and visually striking communications campaign in both travel retail and domestic which will present Bowmore’s new and elevated positioning.”
She adds: “The overall idea of launching two new ranges, one for travel retail and domestic, is because we wanted to have a best-in-class portfolio which showcases the diversity and multi-dimensionality of Bowmore. We’ve had great success with wine casks and one-off expressions in the cask, so thought why not launch a full range?”
“The inspiration for Bowmore Appellations comes from the provenance of the wine regions — Bordeaux, Burgundy, Douro Valley and Sauternes (in Bordeaux) — and pairing that with the provenance of Islay. This marriage is reflected in the aromas and flavours of the whisky itself and the packaging, which recreates the colours and shapes of the aerial views of those wine-making regions.”
Commenting on the future for Bowmore, Kolesnik says: “The next chapter is all about elevation. Ultimately, our whisky is precious, so our new positioning will better hero our whisky DNA. Everything will be centred around our whisky. You will see this with the two key launches and across all our communications and the new visual world of Bowmore, which can only be described as ‘exceptionally expressive’.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 337 | 11 September 2024
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