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Bowmore Tempest / 10 Year Old / Batch 3

Powerful flavours in good balance

4 487

@Pierre_WReview by @Pierre_W

9th Sep 2017

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  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Overall
    87

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Bowmore Tempest was first released in 2009. It is matured exclusively in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks and bottled at cask strength. This review looks at batch no. 3 that was released in 2011.

The nose starts with salty and "maritime" flavours, followed by brIne and light smoke. There is a touch of leather, coupled with lemon zest. Next, grapefruit and vanilla flavours develop, followed by liquorice and a hint of white pepper.

The palate is medium-bodied and spicy. Grapefruits and lemons take centre stage, then smoke (now very distinct) appears together with notes of oranges. Towards the end this becomes quite peppery and even a tad bitter.

The finish is of medium length, salty and somewhat bitter. Smoke is present but subdued. The brine and vanilla flavours appear again and dissolve in a grassy note.

It took me a while to try my first 'Tempest' and I certainly enjoyed the experience. This is an excellent distillate, with powerful flavours in good balance. I have never been a big fan of modern Bowmore releases but this batch no. 3 is rather to my taste.

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4 comments

@BlueNote
BlueNote commented

@Pierre_W I have only had Batch #6 which was excellent. Reviews of #5 are very good and your review of Batch#3 seems to confirm that the Tempest releases are some of Bowmore's best, along with Laimrig 15 and the Devil's Cask. The rest of their OBs (particularly the 12) are avoidable. Although I'm hearing that the 15 Darkest is much improved, I'm too chicken to take a chance on it based on previous psychologically damaging experiences with it.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

I think the flavours you describe are very similar to what I enjoyed in the batch 5 and 6. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think I'll need to open one of my batch 5s this winter.

6 years ago 0

@Pierre_W
Pierre_W commented

Thanks for your comment, @BlueNote. I did like this batch of Tempest. Sadly, this was my first ever try so I don't know anything about the other batches but would definitely bee keen to taste them if given the opportunity. I, too, am fond of the Laimrig but less so of the Devil's Casks releases, although to be honest I have only had #2. It is good to see that Bowmore are capable of producing good stuff it they want (in my humble opinion).

6 years ago 0

@Pierre_W
Pierre_W commented

Thanks, @Nozinan. This is good stuff in my view. I would be happy to get the opportunity to crack open a bottle of batch #5. Enjoy!

6 years ago 0

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