Hi Everyone,
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| Image courtesy of Master of malt |
Compass Box's whiskies I always really want to like but never end up finding them great. (Cue angry mob) Although Flaming Heart is fantastic. It can't be denied that they are doing some great stuff though, pushing boundaries and being innovative, and I can only support them for that.
Anyway, first one is Hedonism. A blended grain, with ages ranging from 15-25 years. I tasted this at Bristol Whisky Festival last year along with Spice Tree.
Compass Box Hedonism 43%
Colour: Light Gold
Body: Light
Nose: Coconut and lemon.
Taste: Creamy, lemon, bourbon-y but a little too spirity.
Finish: Short/Medium length. Very spirity, grain spirit, ethanol.
A blend of 15-25 year old grain whisky.
64/100
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| Image courtesy of Master of malt |
Oak Cross is another blended malt from Compass Box, containing Clynelish, Teaninich and Dailiuane. Tried this in Cardiff Brewdog.
Compass Box Oak Cross 43%
Colour: Light Gold
Body: Light
Nose: Artificial sweetness, apple and pear drop esters, waxy fruit, light toffee, some very light perfume.
Water: Toffee apple.
Taste: Cheek achingly sweet, not really in a good way. Creamy, light and smooth. Building perfume and wax, waxy fruit- Apple. Becoming lightly fruity towards the finish. Some bitter coffee.
Finish: Short length. Light fruit.
Easy drinking but not much complexity.
68/100
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| Image courtesy of Master of malt |
So, this next one was a bit hyped up for me. Partly by Ralfy and the story about inner staves, etc.
Basically, I was really looking forward to trying this. I ended up sampling it at the Bristol Whisky Festival lasted year.
Compass Box Spice Tree 46%
Colour: Gold
Body: Medium
Nose: Fruity and spiced, spiced orange.
Taste: Quite creamy going very fragrant and spicy, then a bad soapy note that goes into the finish.
Finish: Medium length. Soapy and unpleasant.
Shame about the soap. I hope it was just a bad batch. Any kind of small batch single malt
or blend is going to have batch differences.
65/100
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| Image courtesy of Master of malt |
Another blended malt now, this time of Ardmore, Laphroaig and Caol Ila. Sampled in a excellent restaurant in Devon.
Compass Box Peat Monster 46%
Colour: Light Straw
Body: Full
Nose: Very earthy, intense Islay peat smoke, tobacco, burnt grass clippings, black pepper, underlying sweetness- Burnt caramel, brown sugar, smoked Salmon, bit of dark chocolate, some salty brine, hay, herbal note- Nettle, mint, touch of apple.
Taste: Intense peat, quite creamy, lots of salt, earthy, a sweet note- Sweet grass and hay, building heat but not too unpleasant. Develops a mineral note- Lots of flint.
Finish: Long length. Spices linger with intertwined peat smoke. Dark chilli chocolate stays then for a long time.
Very well put together.
75/100
And then the cask strength version. Also tasted at Bristol whisky Lounge. This edition contains Ledaig, Laphroaig and Ardmore.
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| Image courtesy of Master of malt |
Compass Box Peat Monster Cask Strength 57.3%
Colour: Light Gold
Body: Full
Nose: Peat smoke, wet sand, salt, brine, smoked Salmon.
Water: Gravelly and sandy, quite strange actually.
Taste: Intense, wet sand, sea salt, peat smoke, cough sweets.
Water: Creamier but building heat.
Finish: Long length. Peaty.
71/100
Pretty weird. Never had a whisky with that kind of texture before. It's like chewing wet sand. Presented in a huge 1.5L bottle, pretty cool.
Reviews #78-#82
Score Average: 76.8
Best Score: 91
Worst Score: 44
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
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