Head to head · same category, comparable price
Ardbeg 10 Year Old vs Bowmore 12 Year Old
They diverge on 3 of our eight axes, most of all sherried, 1 against 5.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| Ardbeg 10 Year Old | Bowmore 12 Year Old | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Single malt |
| Origin | Islay, Scotland | Islay, Scotland |
| Age | 10 years | 12 years |
| Strength | 46% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon barrel | American oak ex-bourbon cask, European oak Oloroso sherry cask |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £48 | £38 |
| Per 10cl | £6.86 | £5.43 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £149 | £136 |
| Chill-filtered | No | Not stated |
What separates them
Both Islay whiskies, from different distilleries.
Bowmore 12 Year Old states 12 years, 2 more on paper.
Cask as each producer describes it: Ardbeg 10 Year Old in ex-bourbon barrel, Bowmore 12 Year Old in american oak ex-bourbon cask and european oak oloroso sherry cask.
Chill filtration: Ardbeg 10 Year Old is not, Bowmore 12 Year Old does not say.
Colour: Ardbeg 10 Year Old natural colour, Bowmore 12 Year Old silent.
Bowmore 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Ardbeg 10 Year Old is £10 dearer a bottle than Bowmore 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £136 a litre of pure alcohol for Bowmore 12 Year Old against £149.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, Ardbeg 10 Year Old is 18th cheapest and Bowmore 12 Year Old 16th cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | Ardbeg 10 Year Old | Bowmore 12 Year Old |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 9 | 6 |
| Sweet | 3 | 6 |
| Fruity | 4 | 5 |
| Spicy | 5 | 4 |
| Woody | 4 | 5 |
| Sherried | 1 | 5 |
| Cereal | 4 | 5 |
| Oily | 7 | 6 |
3 of the eight axes clear 3 points; after sherried comes peaty at 9 against 6 and sweet at 3 against 6.
Each bottle in its own right
Ardbeg 10 Year Old
Tar, lime and soot, then a long smoked-vanilla finish. Bracing rather than comfortable.
Ardbeg's own page states the whisky is matured solely in ex-bourbon casks and is non-chill filtered, with no sherry component at all — unusual for a flagship Islay malt. It is bottled at 46% where most competitors at the price sit at 40%.
Full record →Bowmore 12 Year Old
Sea salt, lemon and gentle smoke over sherried fruit. The most balanced entry-level Islay.
Bowmore is precise about wood and silent on strength — its page specifies hand-selected ex-bourbon and Oloroso casks while stating no ABV anywhere. Not to be confused with the separate Bowmore 12 Sherry Oak Cask SKU.
Full record →No overlap in what we list them for: Ardbeg 10 Year Old for first serious peated malt and value at 46%, Bowmore 12 Year Old for peat curious and all-rounder.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for Ardbeg 10 Year Old and Bowmore 12 Year Old: ardbeg.com, bowmore.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.