Bowmore 10 Year Old Tempest

The Bowmore Tempest is slowly but surely becoming something of a legendary bottling, the first batch in particular. I tasted it at a whiskydinner two years ago, as well at batch 04 at a recent festival. But it would seem that I had not yet published any notes on the first batch, that was quite affordable at the time, around 45 EUR in 2009.

The nose is surprisingly sweet on lemon, oranges, pineapple, peach, vanilla custard and some flowers. The typical maritime elements, including a wonderful smokiness, work supportive rather than overwhelming. Very clean. Absolutely marvellous.

Citrus is the first thing that stands out on the nose, but it is immediately followed by the maritime notes and the peat takes control. Hefty spices and big peat. Quite a big dose of salt and oak rears its head. Nutmeg and ginger are present. But the whole is perfectly balanced. It is slightly creamy and mouth coating.

The finish is long and smoky, with a good balance between sweet and salt.

Legendary indeed, for such a young malt! Before I knew it, I had finished my final drop before adding any water. The first batch will already fetch between 55 and 70 EUR. Good thing I had put aside an extra bottle when I did!

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