Bowmore Tempest 10 Year Old Batch 5

I first came across Bowmore Tempest in December 2015, when batch 5 appeared in Ontario. I was overwhelmed by its flavours, aromas, and mouthfeel. When batch 6 became available in Quebec I arranged a bottle and sample trade with @Cricklewood.

This bottle was opened in December 2015, gassed after each use, and had about 150 cc remaining when I poured today’s review dram. Noteworthy is that the bottle lists the ABV at 55.9% but the LCBO 55.1%.

This expression is reviewed in my usual manner, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting.

I am reviewing this and the batch 6 concurrently, and will provide a comparison at the end.

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Nose:

Neat – dry peat, slightly muted at the outset. With time the peat and lemon citrus peak through. 21/25

With water – Nose opens beautifully, lemon citrus integrates with the peat, with zest in the background (22/25)

Taste:

Neat – Wave of peat. A touch spirity, sour and (a little) sweet, citrus zest in the development. Rich mouthfeel. This is powerful stuff! 22/25

With water – sweet arrival, sour development with peat supporting it, and an effervescence in the back of my palate. Grapefruit pith. Delicious (23/25)

Finish: Sour, astringent, fairly long. The peat lingers.22/25 with water the finish becomes more ashy with citrus (grapefruit) rind. (22/25)

Balance: I would not call this a complex whisky, with many layers to pick through. However, the flavours work very well together. 22/25

Score: Neat - 87 /100 With Water: 89/100

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This is an excellent whisky. I am surprised at how quickly the bottle has been disappearing, with about 1 sixth of it left after only 6 months. Mind you, I’ve used it in a couple of tastings and given away some samples, but most bottles of Scotch in my cabinet have a much longer tenure.

I like this with a few drops of water, which really open it up. Comparing it to the batch 6, I think this one has a slight edge, but it’s hard to compare a first time taste of a sample with something I’ve enjoyed a few times.

Mixing the 2 together (in equal parts) was an absolute success.

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