Bowmore Tempest 10 Years Review



A Storm in a Tea Cup!

Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Bowmore Tempest Small Batch Release # 2
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 10 Years
ABV: 56 %
Date: 10/02/2013

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: This Bowmore needs serious time in the glass to open up. Nevertheless it remains rough and edgy as young Islay can be from time to time. It's quite Peppery and Mineral as well. The Alcohol is not at all integrated and you will need to find your way around it. This certainly ain't my favourite Bowmore Nose so far. Not surprisingly I find Dry Smoke, Ashes, light Tobacco, Leather, Salt, Brine and Spices like Lemon- Pepper and Cinnamon, accompanied by Herbs, Caramel, light Plastic, Candle Wax, light Orange, light Peach, Espresso and some Cured Meat.

Palate: Again, quite Peppery and Mineral with Dry Smoke, Lemon-Pepper, Salt, Brine, Citrus Peel, Cured Salami and Sugared Herbal Tea.

Finish: Middle-Long, Mineral and Dry towards the end with slightly Bitter Grape Fruit or Passion Fruit, Orange Juice, Lemon-Pepper, Cloves, Sugared Tea, Dry Smoke and Ashes. 

With a couple of drops of water the Nose calms down and loses its rough intensity. I get a bit of extra Fruit, Honey, Malt and light Peat. But Palate and Finish become too Thin for my taste. My advise is to carefully add 2 drops at a time until you find the desired strength.

Rating: 82.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5  - Overall: 20.5


General Remarks: The Bowmore Distillery was founded in 1779 by John Simpson. It's the oldest Islay distillery, located in Bowmore. Since 1994 it is completely owned by Morrison Bowmore Distilleries, part of the Japanese Suntory Group. The Tempest Vatted Small Batch Series consists of 10 Year old Bowmore spirit that matured in First Fill Bourbon Casks in the # 1 Vaults separated only by a single wall from the sometimes rugged and stormy Loch Indaal. So far 4 batches have been released and today I'm tasting Batch #2 that was released late 2010. It is not Chill-Filtered but it does contain E-150. It sells at around 70 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average/Good

Conclusion: I have to admit that the name Tempest suits this Bowmore well in the sense that it's quite Edgy, Rough, Peppery and Mineral. It's almost as Moody as the Weather on Islay! Still, a Tempest is also fiery and strong and that this Bowmore ain't. I would have liked to see a bit more Balance and, well, Character. It's quite simple when you look beyond the Pepper. And it doesn't accept Water very well despite the high ABV. When summing it up I find that this Bowmore is not a bad Single Malt but not a price winner either. Will try to get samples of the other Batches as well for comparison.

Jan van den Ende                                                          February 2014

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Jan, sounds a bit dissapointed.... Well, I was always a big fan of sherried Bowmores...so my expectations on your impressions were not that high... I am sure you'll find some nice expressions of Bowmore (and others) during your visit to Islay. If there are still bottles left from the Maltmen's selection - which I doubt - grab it!
Cheers
Björn

Jan van den Ende said...

Thanks for commenting and for the tip Bjorn. Will look out for the Maltmen! Who knows! And no, this was not my favourite Bowmore so far!
Cheers!
Jan