The rumors are true: Bowmore has revived The Devil's Casks with the release of two heavily sherried single malts.
Comprising a 10 Year Old and a 22 Year Old, the limited editions will be in high demand among Bowmore collectors. The original Devil’s Casks trilogy, released between 2013 and 2015, has taken on something of a fabled status. Bottled at high strength and fully matured in sherry casks, the three releases offered something entirely different from the Islay distillery’s core range.
While sherry-aged whisky is more plentiful in Bowmore’s range these days, this modern-day interpretation of The Devil’s Casks appears to live up to its predecessors on paper.
The 22 Year Old is the more intriguing of the two. It is crafted from two casks held back from the original releases and left to mature for another decade, while the 10 Year Old is a fresh 2026 interpretation paying homage to the trilogy.
The 10 Year Old is matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks and finished in first-fill Pedro Ximénez (PX) casks, and bottled at 56.6% ABV. The 22 Year Old is matured in a combination of first-fill Oloroso and PX casks, before being finished in refill Oloroso casks and bottled at a cask-strength 59.6% ABV.
We’ve not yet tried the releases, but Bowmore’s tasting notes point to dark fruit, fruitcake, cocoa, treacle, and licorice, tied in with the distillery’s signature smoke. That is assuming Dr. Calum Fraser, master blender, has kept the heavy influence of first-fill PX from dominating the liquid.
Fraser said: “The Devil’s Casks became one of Bowmore’s most memorable modern limited editions, combining Bowmore folklore with an intensely rich, flavor-led expression of the distillery’s character. The robust, sweet, dark-fruit influence of sherry casks melded beautifully with Bowmore’s coastal peat smoke and maritime salinity.”
Bowmore, the Islay village, has a close relationship with the devil, at least according to folklore. He once visited the island and is said to have entered the Round Church in Bowmore village. Finding no corners in which to hide, he was chased by locals into the distillery and escaped inside a whisky cask bound for the mainland.
More important than the product and its origins is the price. The 10 Year Old has been set at a very reasonable £70 ($94), and the 22 Year Old is a punchier £380 ($510). Both are being released exclusively through The Whisky Shop. Interest can be registered now ahead of the 10 Year Old’s release on October 16, and only those who buy it will gain entry into the ballot, from October 31, for the highly limited 22 Year Old. Both will also be sold at the Bowmore distillery from December 1.
And it seems the Devil’s Casks revival is just the start. Bowmore has announced plans to reintroduce some of the most celebrated expressions from its past over the coming years and reinterpret them for the modern day.
Thoughts immediately turn to Black Bowmore, widely considered some of the best Scotch whisky ever produced, as well as one of the most prized collectibles. Good luck reinterpreting that…
You can register your interest in The Devil’s Casks here.
