This just came in about an hour ago. It’s a 10 year old, bottled at natural cask strength (55.3%).
BOWMORE UNVEILS LIMITED EDITION ‘BOWMORE TEMPEST’
Bowmore Single Malt whisky from the beautiful Scottish island of Islay will be revealing a new limited edition expression – unlike any other Bowmore Single Malt – Bowmore Tempest on the 14th September.
The long anticipated Bowmore Tempest is a small batch release of only 2,000 cases from Islay’s oldest distillery (established in 1779). As the name suggests, the taste of Bowmore Tempest really captures the rugged and stormy sea qualities that have been associated with its weather beaten Bowmore distillery.
For ten years these first fill Bourbon casks have lain in vaults just inches from the battering waves of Loch Indaal – the result is a whisky bright summer gold in colour. The nose is engulfed by earthy smoke and a sea salt brine. A little water brings out notes of crème brulée with orange blossom and butter cream.
At first on the palate there is a surprising little burst of citrus, some lemons and orange, then comes the distinct peaty character of Islay, with a taste of the neighbouring sea. The citrus returns at the end adding balance and complexity to the mouthfeel and the finish is long, lingering yet clean.
Just as Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort developed his original Beaufort scale to describe wind effects on sailing vessels, the Bowmore Beaufort scale graph plots the complexity of Bowmore Tempest, which has been balanced by nature.
Kirsteen Beeston, Bowmore Marketing Manager said: “We are so proud to reveal Bowmore Tempest. It’s a balanced yet complex dram that really captures the spirit of the distillery on Islay and the craftsmanship that has been applied to make this beautiful tasting single malt.”
Bottles of this special single malt will be priced at £39.99* from all leading whisky specialists and selected retailers.
For further information on Bowmore Single Malt Whisky please visit www.bowmore.co.uk
Hi John,
Any word if/when the Tempest will make it over here? Bowmore is one of my favorite distilleries. As much as I like the standard expressions, I’ve also been fortunate to have had a number of non-vatted botllings ranging from 9 to 16 years in age. So the price is may look a little high for a 10 year old, but this would be one of those times to ignore the label if the product delivers the goods. If they come over soon, it will be just in time for the cooler, fall weather. BTW, any word on the proof?
Slainte.
Louis
PS sorry I missed the seeing it is bottled at natural cask strength.
Hmmmm interesting ,the old 10yo was my favourite when we first went across to Islay , will be interesting to see what it’s like , hopefully it smells like whisky and not something you should “splash all over” .
Good price as well , on par with the Ardbeg Renaissance .
“…the Bowmore Beaufort scale graph plots the complexity of Bowmore Tempest…”
Does it now? —one of the strangest and most entertaining tid bits of PR hype-speak I’ve come across.
Can’t wait to try this and based on my experience with the 16 year old cask strength vintages (not single cask) they’ve been doing I’m optimistic. The price will quite all right if it’s good.
Red, the press release included the graph which didn’t come through in my original posting. It’s up there now. That’s the scale they are talking about.
Hope to hear about any US distro. Was disappointed at Diageo for keeping Manager’s Choice on the other side of The Pond, but I can understand their decision to not go through the huge hassle that is US imports for such a limited, high-end release. The Tempest though, that sounds prime for the US market.
Slainte.
Doug
Missed marketing opportunity…should be bottled in a teapot!
Hmmm, I’ll have to track a bottle of this down. I quite enjoy Bowmore’s offerings. That plot is hilarious though.
when will u taste it an give notes?
They referenced “small batch!” Bourbon now has a bit of a marketing influence on scotch. Me happy.
With a bit of clever marketing we are now invited to part with £40 for a ten year old Bowmore.
The price for this 10 year Cask Strength seems to be on par with Ardbeg Renaissance and Laphroaig 10 CS.
The question remains, will it taste as good?
Interesting indeed. I don’t quite get the ‘long awaited’ bit though, unless its been so long awaited that I forgot it was coming. I agree that the price is not unreasonable for a cask strength distillery offering. Also, assuming they are 6 bottle cases, there are 12,000 bottles which while sizeable is genuinely a limited release from a distillery such as this. I’m looking forward to it now.
Stealth marketing. How refreshing.
Everything on that graph suggests I’m going to love this whisky. Maybe if the dot was about a quarter of an inch higher, and was green instead of orange, I might like it a tad better, but this looks good.
John
Mr. TH: your teapot comment cracked me up!
I got in touch with my Bowmore contact and found out the planned distribution. Here it is: UK, Sweden, France, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland. And possibly Alberta. Nothing here for the U.S. (sadly). I’m not sure when I’ll be getting a sample, but I’ll report back here when I do.
Does anyone else think it looks like Old Pulteney 17yo at first glance?
Possibly the finest whisky I have ever tried!
Wow, Ardbeg, really? What would you compare it to? I can’t wait!
Folks:
I just got a hold of a bottle in Toronto from a special source — not the Ontario LCBO — it won’t be released there — only in Alberta.
Jamie MacKenzie (N.A Regional Manager) was at a special tasting dinner and I got to try it.
It seemed unlike the Bowmores of the past. The peat was milder and a great deal of vanilla notes were in the background. This seemed like a lighter version of the standard Bowmore line that I have come to expect.
I’ll admit that I’m really not an Islay fan but I was impressed enough to pick up a bottle for $85 CDN.
Ken
By the way, I believe that 200 cases were reserved for Alberta.
certainly not the finest whisky i’ve ever tasted but very good indeed. i wish this were available in the u.s. the ob’s we get here are generally sherried to some degree or the other, and this is an interesting change of pace–not too many miles away from laphroaig (though, of course, with some key differences).