Lobster Bar and Grill at Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong is the only place in Hong Kong that offers the limited-edition Bowmore Mizunara Cask Finish Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Only 2,000 bottles were produced globally, limited bottles of which have the Lobster Bar and Grill emblem on the bottle and will be available from 1 December 2015.
For the first time ever, Bowmore has produced an Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky that is finished in precious, hand-crafted Japanese Mizunara oak casks, which brings together two of the world’s most renowned whisky regions – Islay, Scotland and Japan – to create a refined, elegant and complex single malt unlike other before it.
To celebrate Bowmore’s launch of this unique whisky in Hong Kong and its first collaboration with Lobster Bar and Grill, there will be an exclusive whisky pairing dinner at the restaurant on 1 December. The exquisite dinner encompasses some of the finest vintages of Bowmore Whisky and Mizunara Cask Finish Whisky to accompany decadent dishes featuring Cancale oyster with ikura and Pan-seared sustainable sea bass. Moreover, whisky aficionados should not miss out on a four-course whisky pairing menu, as well as a cheese and whisky pairing menu available throughout December (except 24, 25 and 31 December 2015).
Bowmore’s renowned malts have been distilled on the Scottish island of Islay since 1779, making it the first of Islay’s eight distilleries and one of Scotland’s oldest. Produced in exactly the same way for over 200 years and matured in Bowmore’s legendary No. 1 vaults, Bowmore’s whisky is widely acknowledged as among the finest, most beautifully balanced single malts in the world.
On the other side of the globe, Japan’s revered Mizunara oak is left to grow for up to 300 years before being handcrafted into casks using time-honoured techniques known only to a select few. Notoriously difficult to work with but prized for its flavours, casks made from Mizunara are among the rarest, treasured and most sought after in the world. The limited-edition release represents one of the first occasions in which Japanese distillers have spared their precious Mizunara casks for a whisky outside of Japan. Bowmore was chosen due to its long and proven history of innovation and craftsmanship reflecting the same skills and values that have been passed down from generation to generation to create the Mizunara oak casks.
About Bowmore
Founded in 1779, Bowmore is the oldest distillery on Islay, one of the Scottish isles which make up the region known as the “Islands” in the lexicon of whisky. Islay malts are famous for their smoky characteristic and Bowmore’s is no exception; the malt is carefully smoked in a peat-fired kiln using skills handed down from generation to generation to craft a perfectly balanced single malt.
Bowmore’s adherence to traditional production methods helps shape the character of its single malts. Today, it prides itself as one of the rare distilleries that still produces its own floor-malted barley, hand-turned by a traditional wooden malt shovel and hand drawn machinery. Water for the whiskies is specially drawn from the Laggan River, with its rich peaty overtones – the same Islay peat that fires the malt-drying kiln.