Whisky Discovery #1747

Compass Box Enlightenment 46% abv

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

circa £60.00 70cl

One of the latest limited edition releases from those clever folk at Compass Box, Enlightenment is their response to the recent hullaballoo after their full disclosure on their last releases.

‘There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge.’ – Michel de Montaigne

John Glaser says “Since launching the Compass Box Whisky Co., I have always been a firm believer in the spirit of enlightenment – that the more information we can share with our customers about the Scotch whisky we produce, the better. Alas, it transpires such beliefs fall foul of current EU and UK regulations, which prevent us from sharing information about the age of every component whisky used in the creation of our blends.”

He goes on; “Inspired by the writers, philosophers and scientists of the Age of Enlightenment it sets out to encourage the industry to consider the absurdity of a system that prevents producers from telling consumers exactly what has gone into the whiskies they are drinking."

Concluding; “And of course the whisky itself is something rather special. A blend of fruity, fragrant Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, it is bursting with aromas of fresh orchard fruit, flavours of vanilla, soft spice and pear and an alluring apple peel waxiness on the finish. An uplifting, enlightening whisky with which to ponder the world of Scotch not only as it is but also as it could be.”

Bottled in April 2016 this limited edition release is as expected from Compass Box, is of natural colour and non-chill-filtered. A total of 5,922 bottles were filled at 46% abv and it should be available worldwide.

So What Did I Think?

We’ve long been fans and supporters of Compass Box whiskies and admire their quest for full transparency. This blended or ‘vatted’ malt as previously known, is a marriage of just four distilleries. The overwhelming majority of the blend consists of Clynelish and Glentauchers with Clynelish getting the lion’s share. Malt from Balblair and Mortlach make up the balance, and while the ages are not disclosed on the packaging or press releases, I’m sure you can ask next time you see any of the Compass Box team and they’ll tell you.

The nose certainly hints at some older matured whisky lying within. There's an abundance of waxy orchard fruits, crisp rosy red apples in particular but I was also noting softer Comice pear. Beyond these orchard notes, there were fragrant floral notes reminding me of orange blossom. Malty biscuit notes alongside the sweetness of icing sugar

Taste; Beautifully balanced with fruit, wood, and spices. Dried apple notes were leading the fruit, while pencil shavings brought the woody element to the fore. Peppery spices completed the flavour triangle for me.

Verdict: Loved it! I must admit I don't think there has been a release from Compass Box I haven't loved. I might not be able to afford them all, but I have been fortunate to have tasted most of the releases, certainly over the last five years. Enlightenment has a lovely balance of flavours and at around £60 is certainly A 'bang for your buck whisky'. I loved the label too.

Many thanks to Compass Box Whiskies for the sample and the opportunity to enjoy this at my leisure. Would I buy it? Yup, it's certainly within my whisky budget

Slàinte! Dave

Whisky Discovery #291

Compass Box 'The Entertainer' (46% abv)

Blended Scotch Whisky

Circa £85.00 70ml (only available from Selfridges)

Check out the detail in this tasting sample label!

Once again we have been very lucky and have been sent a sample of this exclusive blended whisky to taste. The Entertainer is a unique and bespoke whisky, created exclusively for Selfridges by the award-winning whisky maker Compass Box

With only 1000 bottles produced, The Entertainer, is a unique collaboration and only available at Selfridges’ stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester and from their website for £84.99

So What Did We Think?

I put a dram of this in Kat's hand as she walked through the door the other evening and demanded her tasting notes immediately (she has been busy with her college work recently) I wrote them down while she nosed and tasted!

Kat said: On the nose I immediately thought of mothballs, which although sounds unfamiliar as a whisky tasting note was really quite pleasant. I thought it was quite musky, with notes of fresh cotton, wet green oak, a hint of lemon zest and a green vegetable note; kale or spring greens.

The initial taste is sweet and zesty and reminded me of Lemon bonbons, it has an oily quality with a little smoke, and spicy with fresh ginger. The smoky character and fresh ginger feature in the quite short finish too.

Dave Said: I on the other hand had time to sit down and relax with my dram, and was able to revisit the following evening and started tweeting my 'findings'. There was lots on the nose as you would expect from this blended Scotch. I thought it had a great nose; With a honey sweetness at first, after a short while the sweetness turns fruity with sultanas and figs. As the nose develops there are some nice malty cereal notes, and a gentle Islay peat reek. With more time the nose started to evolve with a floral fragrance, followed by some liquorice notes. Returning to nose this after the first taste I started getting some Demerara sugar, camphor and Sherbert lemons! Quite entertaining

On the palate it was sweet and spicy with, barley sugar and honey, zesty citrus, spices with fresh ginger, white pepper. The peppery finish gently fades with a little brine.

As with all Compass Box Whisky this is naturally coloured and bottled without chill filtration. The label and packaging is one of the most detailed I have seen from Compass Box, and is truly a work of art in itself, and this whisky does exactly what is says on the tin 'Quite Entertaining'.

Whisky Discovery #290

Great King Street 'New York Blend' (46% abv)

Blended Scotch Whisky

£60.00 750ml (from Compass Box Website)

Another fabulous label design from Compass Box

We feel really lucky to have been able to taste this, the first release from Compass Box's Great King Street brand of blended whiskies. New York Blend is the first of it's limited release regional blends and was launched on Saturday, October 27th, 2012 at the New York Whisky Fest in Manhattan. Only 1,840 bottles were released and it was available primarily in the New York metropolitan area and via the Compass Box Whisky Company web site. 

A review sample arrived at Whisky Discovery HQ just before Christmas, However checking the Compass Box website it is available on the UK, although for how long I wouldn't guess.

So how did this all come about? I initially read about it in Whisky Advocate blog, where John Hansell explains how he asked John Glaser if he would create a new whisky and debut it for them at WhiskyFest New York. John thought this would be a great opportunity to start a series of regional blends, something he'd wanted to do for some time.

John made two key discoveries that inspired this one-off, limited edition bottling. One was an ancient New York Times article describing an 1890's bartender named Patrick Duffy who was responsible for instigating the importation of branded Scotch whisky in glass bottles for the first time into New York. The second was an old Scotch blend recipe from a Glasgow blending house from the same era. John fashioned a blend based on the old recipe dedicated the bottling to Duffy, and the New York Blend was born.

The New York Blend uses lots of peaty single malts, plenty of sherry cask-aged single malts, and a much higher proportion of malt to grain whisky (80%/20%) than is typically used today (generally 30%/70%).

As with all Compass Box whiskies this is bottled with no added colouring and without chill-filtering.

Compass Box plans more Great King Street regional blends in the future, but for now there are no details of where or when, so to make sure you're the first to know it would be a good idea to sign up for the Compass Box newsletter on their website (we have!)

So What Did We Think?

Kat: My nosing notes were rattled off: Malty, sweet, gentle smoke, citrus candied peel, Johnson's Baby Powder, Morning Dew.

On first taste I exclaimed 'Wow this is really nice, I think I might have to get a bottle of this.' Light and delicate on the palate, fresh, spicy cloves, gentle smoke, malty notes. Towards the end I was getting a bitter dark chocolate notes or coffee beans.

Dave: The high percentage of malt whisky in this blend is immediately evident on the nose leading with malty notes. Fruity notes of sultanas and sweet clementines develop shortly afterwards. There is less peat smoke than I was expecting especially when a quarter of the recipe is said to contain heavily peated single malts from Islay, it's there, but quite gentle

However the Islay peated malts certainly make themselves known on the palate. It starts off with with a light sweet toffee note before a spicy chilli heat takes over, all the while the soft peaty smoke hangs in the background. The spice subsides leaving a dark chocolate bitterness and a medium length gently spice finish

If you're quick you might be able to blag yourself a big US style bottle at the Compass Box Shop If you have tried this let us know what you think!

Compass Box Twitter Tasting (Part Deux)

I was really fortunate to be chosen for the recent Compass Box Tweet Tasting last Wednesday evening. This was the second Compass Box Tweet Tasting hosted by Steve Rush @TheWhiskyWire, the first one being held towards the end of last year, before I had discovered Twitter and before I started publishing this blog.

I've tasted a number of Compass Box Whiskies this year having been first introduced to them through Ian Buxton's 101 Whiskies to Try before you Die. I first got to taste the core range at The Whisky Lounge London Fest. Then in June I managed to catch up with Compass Box in Oxford on their  record setting tasting event. 

Although I had tried two of the three drams received, I was really looking forward to revisiting them and to experience the new release of 'Flaming Heart' which I had heard good things about previous releases.

Just got ready before the 7:00pm start

The package containing the three generous and well present samples arrived the day before the event, I just made it in from work for the seven o'clock start, when Steve Rush and Chris Maybin, Commercial Director from Compass Box guided us through the three drams:

Dram #1 Oak Cross
Blended Malt Whisky Bottled at 43% abv
Circa £35.00 70cl

Oak Cross from Compass Box

I had tasted Oak Cross once before at The Whisky Lounge London Fest earlier this year, it was Whisky Discovery #92 of my journey. 

Oak Cross, is a blended malt whisky, and comprises entirely of Highland single malt whiskies from the villages of Brora, Carron and Alness that have undergone a unique secondary maturation in American casks with new French oak heads.

All whiskies are between 10 and 12 years old and from casks chosen individually, cask-by-cask, to ensure perfect maturity. The whiskies are aged for their primary maturation in a mix of American oak cask types. The marrying casks are a mix of first-fill Bourbon barrels and Compass Box Whiskies proprietary “Oak Cross” casks made of American and new French oaks before bottling. 

As with all Compass Box whiskies it is bottled at natural colour and non-chill filtered

A charming blended malt, very smooth with light notes of clove vanilla accent, a sweet maltiness and subtle fruit flavours. It was great to taste this again, it has a lovely creamy vanilla nose and light fruity taste. It's not my fist choice Compass Box whisky, both Peat Monster and Spice Tree are first!

Some of my favourite tweets for Oak Cross:

@GJR71 Nose: some bourbon notes, liquorice as a start. Fruity apple/pear, some grassy notes, spicy anise, cinnamon, nutmeg.

@whiskyrepublic I'm getting fresh fruit....dandelion.....touch of marzipan

@steveprentice So Oak Cross; A light floral, faintly spicy nose.. which seems to have opened up in my glass after a few minutes with fruity goodness

‏@DramStats Definitely vanilla. licqourice note with sweet fruit of the pineapple cubes ilk. Some grass and green apple too

‏@TIA568B Nose: Peaches, heather honey, slightly grassy, vanilla, cereal, oats, orange pith, floral, a hint of spice.

@whiskyrepublic I'm still getting a "meadow after rain" sweetness on the nose

@rodbodtoo Oak Cross palate: dry (really rather dry), peppery, a rounded creamy texture. Some malt in the finish

Dram #2 Hedonism
Blended Grain Whisky Bottled at 43% abv

Circa £53.00 70cl

Hedonism from Compass Box

Another of the Compass Box range I had tasted at The Whisky Lounge London Fest earlier this year, it was Whisky Discovery #95 of my journey. It was great to revisit this as the first time I was blown away with the coconut nose.

Hedonism was the first whisky John Glaser ever made (on 23rd October 2000) and is a unique vatting of Scotch grain whiskies from top quality American oak casks it’s also unusual in the Scotch whisky world being a blended grain Scotch whisky.

It is very rare to see 100% grain whisky bottlings as today, most Scotch grain whisky gets blended into the big brand names, typically at young ages. For Hedonism, Compass Box search for old casks of Scotch grain whisky. It is only produced once or twice a year, when casks with the right flavour profile are found. It’s typically a marriage of two Lowland distilleries averaging over 20 years old. However, the combination of whiskies will vary according to batch, but whiskies from Cameron Bridge, Carsebridge, Cambus, Port Dundas or Dumbarton distilleries are used.

The grain whisky is aged in good quality American oak casks, either 100% first-fill American oak barrels or rejuvenated American oak Hogsheads. This batch of Hedonism was made up of 49% Cameron Bridge 1997, 44% Dumbarton 1993 and 7% Port Dundas 1991. All from 100% First fill American oak The whisky is bottled at 43%. It is not chill filtered and naturally coloured.

Some of my favourite tweets for Hedonism:

@CompassBox when asked about pronounciation Depends on what country you are in. Heedonism in the US. Headonism in the UK. And Edoneeeesm in France.

@TheWhiskyWire Summer & autumn berries in a cloud of coconut, showered in a finesseful flurry of crushed pink peppercorns.

@ifotou bliss on the nose, dewy grass, light watery fruits like melon and nectarines, slight vanilla and a touch of light wood
@rodbodtoo Hedonism tastes super-sweet, very smooth, creamy texture. Lovely white chocolate with extra vanilla flavour
@LRWhisky Very sweet - like those white chocolate mice you had as a kid
@DramStats From foam bananas, through coconut mushrooms to white mice washed down with banana milkshake. The sweetshop dram. Want!

‏@PresleyKa I'm getting a slight caramelised grapefruit jam but not as sweet.

Dram #3 Flaming Heart 2012
Blended Malt Whisky Bottled at 48.9% abv
Circa £85.00 70cl 

The New Flaming Heart 2012

This was the star of this evenings Tweet Tasting and the one that ended up being most of the tweet-tasters favourite. It was also my Whisky Discovery #157

This is the fourth release of Flaming Heart and the samples received had come straight from the bottling line and we were the first people to taste it. The whisky had not been released yet, so we were very priviliged.

This batch of Flaming Heart combines Highland single malt whiskies aged on the highest quality, new French oak, with a heavy-peated Islay single malt. And for the first time, a small portion of whiskies aged in sherry casks, providing added layers of richness and complexity. Chris let on that the heart of this blend is from Clynelish (the highland element) Laphroiag (the Islay element) and supported by a slug of Ardmore. The all important cask selection came from a combination of refill American oak (ex-Bourbon), new French oak (heavily toasted) and sherry casks.

This fourth release is again a limited edition due to the selection of the whisky available an there will be only 9,147 bottles available. Bottled in August 2012, non chill filtered and natural colour it was due for release in the UK and Europe in September and October for those in the USA

So What did I think?

It is magnificent and I just loved the Laphroaig presence. I'm still 'nosing' the empty sample bottle, refusing to wash it out until its presence is no longer detected! It is big and powerful on the nose; smoky, vanilla and spice, there is leather, charcoal, sweet rich fruits, kiwi boot polish, there's a light tobacco element and the hint of cinnamon too.

On the palate, again rich and powerful, the medicinal Laphroaig note perfectly balanced with the rich dark fruits, peppery spice and a light salty note too. This was my favourite of the evening taste wise, although I was a little surprised at the price, I was expecting this to be around the sixty five pound range, the extra £20 would certainly make me think hard before parting with my hard earned cash, but I really did enjoy it. Hopefully, if my next bonus payment is good I'll treat myself with a bottle.

Some of my favourite tweets for Flaming Heart 2012:

‏@DramStats Nose. First hit: Leather armchairs.
@TIA568B New leather boots, bbq smoke, smouldering grass, vanilla and pears
‏@GJR71 Nose: More aged, darker, leather, library, smouldering wood.. Fire place

@JayDieNL Some waxy smoke on the nose 

‏@whiskyrepublic If "nose" can have a colour & texture then this one is rich & dark...It's Jack Palance...mysterious, dangerous, loving it.

‏@ifotou light smoke like sitting next to an open fireplace while sniffing citrus fruits, lemons and limes with vanilla

@TIA568B smoke, peat, nutmeg, white pepper, sweet and creamy, dry, driftwood with orange oil and a bit of vanilla, very rich

@PresleyKa Wow, getting spices, dry fruits, dried flowers, slight of salty sea air on a fresh day. Just really makes me want to go camping.

‏@TheWhiskyWire Plumes of smoke juggling blackberries, peppercorns, vanilla pods and a cavalcade of winter spice

As per previous Tweet Tastings there was a great deal of tweeting going on and to see what happened search on the #CBTT2 hashtag on twitter for the full story!

Yet another great experience and another highlight of my whisky journey, revisiting two and  registering a fabulous new ‘discovery’ A massive THANK YOU to Steve Rush at @TheWhiskyWire Chris Maybin and everyone at @CompassBox as well as all the Tweet Tasters for sharing your tasting notes with us all.

If you want to be included in the next Tweet Tasting make sure you are following @TheWhiskyWire on Twitter to find out what is happening.For more information see: http://www.thewhiskywire.com/ and http://www.compassboxwhisky.com

World Record Whisky Tasting

2 Great Men

3 Great Whiskies

8 Whisky Shops

24 hours and 683 miles

I was there....well for the Oxford session anyway

Not long ago, Dominic Roskrow of The Whisky Shop and John Glaser from Compass Box Whisky Company decided that it would be a good idea to mark the arrival of three Compass Box whiskies in The Whisky Shop branches, to hold eight different whisky tastings, in eight different Whisky Shops, from Inverness to Brighton. Madness? It must have seemed a good idea at the time!  On Friday 15th June 2012 the world record event was to begin.

I had just booked that Friday off of work when I found out about this crazy event, and thought, if I get up early on the Friday, get my chores done, I should easily make it for the six o'clock session in the Oxford branch of The Whisky Shop which seemed like the nearest event to my house at fifty miles door to door.

Each of the whisky tastings were with a trio of award winning core expressions from the Compass Box Whisky Company, Great King Street, The Spice Tree and The Peat Monster. Each whisky tasting event at each Whisky Shop had a different theme to it too, but the same three whiskies were used throughout and in an attempt to set a whisky tasting world record and raise money for charity along the way, the whole tour happened in just one day.

It all started with a one-minute-past-midnight tasting at The Whisky Shop in Inverness and finished in Brighton with a grand finale at 11.30pm

At Inverness there was a classic tasting session and grand departure. By 0430 they were in Edinburgh with the history of blended whisky and the rise of the Highball. Making it to Newcastle for 0830, breakfast pairings was on the agenda; Haggis and Spice Tree, Kippers with Peat Monster. Great King Street and cornflakes? (I made that last one up, but might try it next weekend) 

In York at 1130, and the art of blending was explained, and onto Birmingham for 1530; Oak, the magical ingredient was the order of the session. The Oxford session started at 1800, before moving onto London for 2100 and whisky cocktails and there was something special to finish at Brighton at 2330 

Chris Maybin and two regulars outside the Oxford Whisky Shop in Turl Street

The Oxford tasting was due to start at 1800 and the order of the session was food and whisky matching. I got to Oxford in good time, found somewhere close to park (it really isn't easy to park in Oxford!) and strolled into town to find The Whisky Shop which was tucked in the middle of the historic section, and halfway down Turl Street.

Chris Maybin, Commercial Director, from Compass Box Whisky was already there, and along with Oxford Whisky Shop Manager, Peter Hack, were preparing the shop for the tasting. Telephone calls from the travelling party were reporting that due to traffic (Friday afternoon rush hour from Birmingham to Oxford) they might be a little late. The shop was starting to fill with enthusiastic regulars, wanting to be part of this event, and even the sun was shining, which was surprising with the weather forecasts predicted for the weekend.

It was only a little after six when John and Dominic arrived, and after very brief introductions (they were on a mission) the tasting session got underway.

John Glasser in full flow, Great King Street The Artist's Blend with Dominic Roskrow listening intently

First up was Great King Street, The Artist's Blend which had been paired with vintage cheddar cheese. John explained the history of Great King Street and the importance of blended whisky, and why he decided to start blending his own. Someone told me a while back, to think of a single malt as a solo instrument and a blended whisky as a band or orchestra. I tried The Artists Blend at the London Whisky Fest in April, but the food pairing with vintage cheddar cheese brought a whole new dimension to it. It quickly became a luxurious vanilla ice-cream, just delicious!

Moving swiftly on and Salmon was the food pairing for The Peat Monster. This was my favourite Compass Box Whisky at the London Whisky Fest so was really looking forward to tasting this again and it worked beautifully with some superb quality pepper-crusted salmon.

For our final dram, The Spice Tree had been paired with a rich fruit cake, however while nosing the dram John explained a little of the history of the Spice Tree whisky and the experiments with the wood they had initially undertaken. Both the fruit cake and Spice Tree whisky were delicious and went well together, although John thought that this would have been better matched with a rich Jamaican ginger cake. I'm looking to try that very soon!

The three whiskies, Smoked Salmon and Fruit Cake

With the tasting session over, John and Dominic were quickly bundled into their car and were rushed off to London. They made the final two events in time, and hopefully made it into the Guinness book for Records for the event, but if it didn't happen, it didn't really matter, some 200 people attended the events nationwide, each shop raised money for their local charities, and a lot of people when away with an education in Compass Box Whisky.

As I was driving I was unable to fully partake in the tasting, however I was allowed to take my drams home in sample bottles before the main bottles were drained by the rest of the tasters. So now I can get my own vintage cheddar cheese, smoked salmon and Jamaican ginger cake and hold my own food pairing at home. I always have smoked salmon in the fridge, have just bought some vintage cheddar this afternoon, so just the ginger cake to get tomorrow then!

All participants were also handed a limited edition T-Shirt to commemorate the event, unfortunately they were obviously designed for younger more svelte whisky drinkers, as only mediums were available - I haven't been a medium for 35 years! So it was promptly 'blagged' by my youngest daughter when I got home. She's modelling it for me here!

The front of the limited edition t-shirt.....

and the back of the limited edition t-shirt

Whisky Discovery #96

Compass Box ‘Orangerie’ (40% abv)

Infused Blended Scotch Whisky

Circa £31.00 70cl

The Scotch Whisky Infusion 'Orangerie'

Our final tasting at Compass Box Whisky was their infused whisky ‘Orangerie’.

Due to the very strong flavours, we were served our dram in a small plastic pot, as if we had used our Glencairn we were told we would be tasting it for the rest of the afternoon!

Orangerie is an infusion of Scotch whisky and natural ingredients, which complement the whisky and enhance its overall aromas and flavours. It cannot be called Scotch whisky, as it has taken on flavours from the infusion of fresh, hand-zested peel of Navalino oranges and subtle accents of Indonesian cassia bark and Sri Lankan cloves.

The earliest orangery in Britain was built in the late 1500s by Frances Carew. It was there that Queen Elizabeth 1st visited and probably tasted oranges for the first time. In the 18th century, building an orangery became the height of fashion, particularly in Scotland. In London, two landmark orangeries were built – Kensington Palace in 1705 and Kew Gardens in 1761. The inspiration for the name of this whisky infusion came while visiting the orangery at Kew.

The whisky used is to make Orangerie is a soft, sweet blend of Highland single malt and single grain whisky from Fife. Only the freshest, highest quality oranges and top class, aromatic spices. Importantly, the fruit is zested by hand and only fresh zest is used in this infusion (no synthetic flavourings or oils). They state that only the hand-zested peel of really fresh Navalino oranges will give you the lively, vibrant flavours that are the hallmark of Orangerie. It is bottled at 40% and as with all of the Compass Box whiskies it is not chill filtered, and naturally coloured.

So what did I think?
Incredible aromas of fresh-peeled orange and Christmas cake spices rise from the glass – it really is unbelievably orangey! On the palate the rich, yet soft whisky flavours blend with hints of vanilla and exotic spices all offset by sweet-natured orange.

Whilst it was very different and very nice, I don’t think it is for me. I’m not sure I would turn to this at home. I needed a lot of water to restore my tatsebuds which I then cleansed with a second helping of my favourite,The Peat Monster!

Whisky Discovery #95

Compass Box ‘Hedonism’ (43% abv)

Blended Grain Whisky

Circa £58.00 70cl

Compass Box Hedonism

For our 6th Compass Box whisky we were treated to the fifth and final expression from their Signature Range. (Unfortunately my phone started playing up around this time so did not manage to get a photo of the bottle, so this photo is kindly supplied by Compass Box)

Hedonism is a unique vatting of Scotch grain whiskies from top quality American oak casks it’s also unusual in the Scotch whisky world being a blended grain Scotch whisky.

It is very rare to see 100% grain whisky bottlings, in Scotland. Going back 100 years, grain whisky brands were more common, but they were overtaken in popularity by the big brands of blended Scotch, which comprised both grain whisky and malt whisky. Today, most Scotch grain whisky gets blended into the big brand names, typically at young ages. For Hedonism, Compass Box search for old casks of Scotch grain whisky. It is only produced once or twice a year, when casks with the right flavour profile are found. It’s typically a marriage of two Lowland distilleries averaging over 20 years old. However, the combination of whiskies will vary according to batch, but whiskies from Cameron Bridge, Carsebridge, Cambus, Port Dundas or Dumbarton distilleries are used.

The grain whisky is aged in good quality American oak casks, either 100% first-fill American oak barrels or rejuvenated American oak Hogsheads. The results can be stunning: a rich, sweet, alluring whisky, redolent of vanilla, pastry cream and coconut. The whisky is bottled at 43%. It is not chill filtered and naturally coloured.

So what did I think?

The coconut on the nose was the immediate sensation when nosing this whisky, I really wasn’t expecting it at all! Perhaps tasting this after The Peat Monster wasn’t the best idea, especially as I love peated whiskies, so I may not have given this the sort of time it deserved. Coconut was written in large letters in my notebook, but I followed up with vanilla cream, toffee, rich and sweet. This is the third Compass Box whisky listed in Ian Buxton's book and I think I need to revisit this one in order to give it the time it deserves.

Whisky Discovery #94

Compass Box The Peat Monster (46% abv)

Blended Malt Whisky

Circa £37.00 70cl

The Peat Monster

For the fifth Compass Box whisky and the fourth of their Signature range we discovered 'The Peat Monster’

For those who love big, rich, smoky-peaty whiskies, this is for you! Peat Monster combines smoky and peaty single malts from the island of Islay and the Isle of Mull with rich, medium-peated Speyside whisky. Aged in a mixture of first-fill and refill American oak casks. The result is a balanced, highly drinkable peaty blended malt Scotch whisky.

What makes it fit perfectly into the Compass Box house style is the balance of richness and subtle sweetness that the casks of Speyside malt provide to the smoky peaty Islay and island malts. This is the great benefit of combining single malts from different distilleries; they are not limited to the produce of one distillery and can create layers of complexity.

For recent batches, they have introduced even more complexity by adding some south shore Islay malt and island malt to enhance the peatiness and earthiness. As with all of their whiskies, several months of marrying before bottling allow the flavours of each of the whiskies to knit together, before being bottle at 46% abv. It is not chill filtered and naturally coloured

So what did I think?

WOW! This was just fantastic and I loved it! The whisky that started me off on this journey was a Caol Ila, and the first bottle I bought was a Laphroaig, both Islay malts, I love peaty whiskies! A Peaty, smoky malt with hints of fruitiness; a balanced whisky with great depth and complexity This was my favourite of the Compass Box whiskies and I went back for seconds after trying the last Compass Box whisky we tried that afternoon. I am sure that this one will be on my shelf in the very near future.

Whisky Discovery #93

Compass Box 'The Spice Tree' NAS (46% abv)

Blended Malt Whisky

Circa £37.00 70cl

The Spice Tree

We then moved on to our 4th Compass Box Whisky, and Spice Tree was poured, which is the third in their Signature range.

This controversial whisky was first launched in 2005, however was forced to discontinue production under a legal threat by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) for the pioneering use of the highest quality new French oak inner staves in the casks used to mature the whisky. This, despite rave reviews from consumers, trade and press. (You can find out about it all on their website)

Over the following three years a new maturation process was developed which yielded similar if not superior results to the previous method, and this new process is something the SWA can’t take any issue with.  The Spice Tree was then re-launched in September 2009 and the award winning malt whisky was back.  

As in the past, The Spice Tree is made entirely of Highland single malt whiskies from the villages of Brora (fruitiness), Carron (meatiness) and Alness (perfume). The primary maturation is in a mix of first-fill and refill American oak. What is different is the secondary maturation. Rather than using inner stave inserts, as they did for the original Spice Tree, the whisky is racked into custom barrels with heavily toasted new French oak heads sourced from 195 year-old Vosges forests. heavily toasted cask heads imparts a flavour profile similar to the flat staves used for the original Spice Tree.

As with the other blends all whiskies are between 10 and 12 years old, which then go through the secondary maturation which can last up to two years, and with three different levels of toasting on the barrel heads, the resultant whiskies can be blended to create additional layers of complexity

The Spice Tree is a very rich whisky and the nose suggests clove, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. The palate is full, round and sweet, with the spice and vanilla following and complimenting the core distillery characters. Bottled at 46% abv it is not chill filtered and naturally coloured.

So what did I think?

This is the second Spice Tree listed in Ian Buxton’s book and it is a lovely drop of drammage. I would rate this as my second favourite of the Compass Box whiskies tasted on my journey to date. Great, sweet aromas of clove, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and it tasted great too. The bottle label and box detailing is stunning and this would look great on anyone's whisky shelf. It's listed 'Dad's Whisky Wish List' on my fridge!

Whisky Discovery #92

Compass Box Oak Cross NAS (43% abv)

Blended Malt Whisky

Circa £33.00 70cl

Compass Box Oak Cross

For our third dram of Compass Box delights Céline poured an Oak Cross for us

Oak Cross, the second of their Signature Series, is a blended malt whisky, and comprises entirely of Highland single malt whiskies from the villages of Brora (fruitiness), Carron (meatiness) and Alness (perfume).

Compass Box have been working with a small mill in France that produces some of the highest quality cooperage oak in the world. This has led to experimenting with secondary maturation of malt whiskies in casks fitted with new French oak heads. This is something no one else in Scotland does. The result is whisky with more character and complexity. This technique is used on about 40% of the whisky in Oak Cross and it results in a superior finished product.

A rich, medium-bodied blended malt whisky, named Oak Cross because it offers the best characteristics of both American and French oak aging.  Oak Cross combines vanilla characters from American oak and spicy, clove-like characters from French oak.

All whiskies are between 10 and 12 years old and from casks chosen individually, cask-by-cask, to ensure perfect maturity. All the whiskies are aged for their primary maturation in a mix of American oak cask types. The marrying casks are a mix of first-fill Bourbon barrels and our proprietary “Oak Cross” casks made of American and new French oaks before bottling. Oak Corssis bottled at 43%, it's not chill filtered and naturally coloured.

So what did I think?

A charming blended malt, very smooth with light notes of clove vanilla accent, a sweet maltiness and subtle fruit character.  Not my favourite of the Compass box range we tasted, but it wasn’t far behind and I’d be very happy with a bottle of this on my shelf, a big thumbs up from me!

Whisky Discovery #91

Great King Street 'Artists Blend' (43% abv)

Blended Scotch Whisky

Circa £25.00 50cl

Great King Street ' Artists Blend'

For our second Compass Box whisky we were introduced to the first of the new ‘Great King Street’ range. Great King Street is a new line dedicated solely to the category of Blended Scotch Whisky, and the first whisky of the line, “Artist’s Blend”, was released in 2011

The name of this new label is inspired by Compass Box's registered office, 24 Great King Street, in Edinburgh, and their mission is to offer a style and approach to Blended Scotch that they believe has not existed before. The blends will use a high proportion of malt whisky (about 50%), excellent quality grain whiskies, and the careful use of new French Oak aging for added complexity. All will be bottled without chill-filtering and be naturally coloured.

There are five key things that Compass Box considered in Great King Street:

Great Grain. Using the very highest quality single grain Scotch whiskies. Sourced from a renowned Lowland distillery and all of it is aged in 'first fill' American oak barrels, which makes the grain whisky much richer and sweeter on the palate than those aged in larger, refill casks.

More Malt. Secondly, they are using a higher proportion of malt whisky than most other Blends. 'Artist's Blend' consists of almost 50% malt whisky, far more than the 30 or 40% most blends use. This provides more character and complexity.

Better Oak. Compass Box are known for their fanaticism about quality oak casks. Every cask of whisky used to make 'Artist's Blend' is of a much higher quality than is typical in Scotch whisky: first-fill American oak casks, first-fill European oak ex-Sherry butts and, something no other Blended Scotch uses, new oak. In this case, new, heavily-toasted French oak.

Bottled Naturally. 'Artist's Blend' is bottled at its natural colour (no E150 colouring agent) and without the chill filtration prior to bottling that most Scotch whiskies go through. This leaves the whisky full of its natural complexity and mouthfeel.

Traditional Strength. Bottled at 43% abv, a strength traditionally used in Scotland many years ago.

‘The Artist’s Blend’ is a marriage of delicate Lowland grain and robust, complex Highland malt whiskies. The style is rich, round and fruity with hints of toasty oak, vanilla and spice.

So what did I think?
I've been finding out a little about blended whisky recently. I read Richard Paterson's excellent book 'Goodness Nose' over the Easter weekend and have had a great Tweet Tasting with Steve Rush of The Whisky Wire and Cutty Sark Blends, so really appreciate the work that is going into the making of them. This was a very pleasing blended Scotch whisky which I would be happy to have on my shelf.

Whisky Discovery #90

Compass Box ‘Asyla’ (40% abv) 
Blended Scotch Whisky
Circa £31.00 70cl 

Compass Box Asyla

I was really pleased to see that Compass Box Whiskies were at The Whisky Lounge London Fest, as I’d heard lots of good things about them.

Ian Buxtons’ great book ‘101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die’ lists three of their range, although he makes it quite clear that he would like to recommend them all!

So, after having to bypass the SMWS stand (it was still very busy) we headed over to Compass Box Whiskies where we met Céline, who took us through the range.

For our first dram from Compass Box, we were presented with Asyla.

Asyla is part of the Signature Range from Compass Box and is a blended Scotch Whisky and a blend of two Single Malts from the towns of Alness and Longmorn, and a Single Grain whisky from Fife. With 50% malt whisky, there are few blended Scotches that use as high a malt content. All whiskies used in the blend are ten to twelve years old, and the three combine beautifully for the resultant sweet, delicate and fruity whisky that’s wonderfully soft on the palate.

Compass Box Whisky will tell you that the secret is in the oak and the quality of the casks. Asyla is brought together from whiskies that have only been aged in first-fill American oak casks because these yield whiskies with more vanilla character, more richness and more sweetness than refill casks. The whiskies are combined and returned to casks for marrying up to 24 months before bottling. Asyla is bottled at 40%, is not chill-filtered and naturally coloured.

So what did I think?
As I said earlier, sweet, delicate and very smooth on the palate, with flavours of vanilla-cream, cereals and a subtle apple-like fruit character. A great start to the introduction of the Compass Box whiskies and one of the three mentioned in Ian Buxton’s’ book.