Bowmore Tempest 10 Year Batch 6

Not good. Better with water but too complicated, almost fishy.

* Review transferred from the general listing for Bowmore Tempest. This is a batch release series. The batches have been very different, and each should have its own listing. Nose (neat): Fresh cereal and sweet / bittersweet citrus fruits - tangello, sherbet lemon, mandarin. A very strong scent of grapefruit. Oily floral notes and a lot of brine. A glimpse of smoke. Nose (with water): As above but tempered by a sweet cloud that increases over time. It even develops a hint of Laphroaig hospital bandages. Palate (neat): Gripping, very salty and astringent - so intensely dry it puckers the mouth. A hot spicy of black pepper in the development. Very sharp and tangy - it quivers with energy like a rattlesnake. This palate is very powerful - honestly, it makes Corryvrecken taste gentle and laid-back. The texture is oily but very dry. Palate (with water): A strong and assertive peatiness emerges, with the salt and pepper now happening at the back of the tongue and some ginger and hard salt licorice emerging. Chewing tobacco, pine resin. Over a very long time some sweetness emerges. Finish: Long. Spicy, smoky and briny. Adding water calms the finish slightly but does not shorten it or change the profile. I loved this whisky but it is not one I’d pour for a beginner. Give this to a neophyte, particularly neat, and I guarantee they will spit it out and be alienated from scotch whisky forever. However, if you are used to salty-citrus cask-strength whisky with a dry profile you will find this to be a most characterful, uncompromising and satisfying dram. It is one of those very forward whiskies that must be diluted in order to appreciate. Don't try to tough it out on principle because water is absolutely necessary to unleash the aromas and flavours that are otherwise locked up tight by the alcohol. Taste this only neat and you are missing half the experience. This is the spiciest and most powerful Tempest ever, and it's the first Bowmore I've tasted for a long time that has really engaged me, but I wouldn't drink it as a relaxing nightcap! This batch really deserves the name "Tempest" - it's a roaring, devastating typhoon with a smoky, marine and woody character. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)