Tastes

Like many of you, I love Compass Box.  Basically every CB whisky - core offerings, limited editions, peated or non-peated, super experimental or classic expressions.  While it would be nice to have one of each, CB puts out a lot of different whiskies (22 current offerings, based on the on the CB website), with a fairly high rate of turnover for the special editions.  So I'm trying to be a bit selective. I've been particularly curious about the Flaming Heart,  so it was an easy pick from the Franklin Room's menu.   It lived up to my expectations - peaty, bold and a nice fruit sweetness.  No bitterness, not an off note to be found and a nice smokey finish.  Nevertheless, I really wish I could have tried it alongside Peat Monster, which I recall as being very similar, and considerably cheaper.  And at $100+, the Flaming Heart has strong competition from a few other CB offerings.  So is it a buy? In the immediate term, I answered the buy question the following day at Binny's in Lincoln Park (a great tip from @ANTONIOSCHMID).   The Compass Box selection at Binny's was phenomenal, as was the selection of local craft whiskeys and just about everything else.  Hard choices were inevitable. The Flaming Heart was on sale for $114, but in the end, I chose two different CB's - a first edition No Name, simply because of the degree to which the whisky senseis here rave about it, and the Lost Blend, because it also has some fine reviews and I suspect it will be a bit different from other CB peated offerings. However, it looks like the availability of the current Flaming Heart is good, and I haven't ruled out a purchase yet.

My second selection on my recent visit to The Franklin Room in Chicago was Old Pulteney  21 (for the first, see my review of Compass Box Hedonism the Muse).   I asked the bartender for a dram and he disappeared to get the bottle.  But he returned a couple of minutes later empty handed.  "There's just a little bit left and it's been sitting for a while.  I don't want to give you that," he said.   Appreciative but slightly disappointed, I faced the reality that i would likely never experience the 21 since it has been discontinued and doesn't seem to be available anywhere. Undeterred from Old Pulteney, however, I shifted to the 17.   This whiskey screams seaside in the summer.  There's fruit and oceanside breeze on the nose.  The palate is quite smooth and rich, with some dark fruit, salt, and mild oak, with a hint of chocolate on the finish.  It's well balanced and entirely pleasant. Although i didn't realize it then, I've since learned that the 17 has also been discontinued.  Fortunately, availability is still good, so I'm going to to pick up a bottle soon.

I spent the past few days in Chicago, taking in some of the sights and some great weather.  I also had the opportunity to go to two great whiskey bars - Delilah's and the Franklin Room.  Both were great, although whiskey is about the only thing the two establishments have in common. The Franklin Room is a restaurant and bar below ground, full of dark colored wood paneling.  The bartenders know their stuff, from whiskey to cocktails. Notwithstanding the upscale feel, the prices are reasonable and all whiskeys are available in sizes from 1oz to a quarter of a bottle. Upon arriving, the wife and I took a seat at the bar, and while she ordered a cocktail, I started to peruse the whiskey list.  Knowing that it would take me a while to establish an overall plan of attack, i looked for an obvious quick hit to sip while I contemplated further options.  Hedonism the Muse jumped out at me. I've never had the Muse, but I absolutely love the regular Hedonism.  Certainly in my top 10 list. The Muse did not disappoint.  Rich, sweet, and lovely. Loads of vanilla, some fruit, a mild and pleasant oak note, and just a touch of spice.  It took all of two sips for me to decide that I needed a bottle, and I grabbed my phone from my pocket like an impatient child. And therein lies the rub - the price of admission is $250-300+.  That seems steep, particularly in comparison to the regular Hedonism, which I picked up earlier this summer in travel retail for less than $70.   I have yet to spend that much on a bottle of whiskey, and although I have a solid frame of reference for VFM in the $0-150 range, I certainly cant say the same about $250+.   So for now, I'll bide my time while I figure out what I expect a $250 whiskey to be.

I've had a couple of Japanese whiskeys recently that didn't quite live up to my high expectations (specifically, Hibiki Harmony and Yamazaki 12). Happily, the Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve reversed that trend. The nose is very nice - lots of fruits, a grainy baked good that I think is closest to biscotti, and some vanilla cream. The palate is fruity, creamy, a bit spicy and heavy on the oak. I don't always enjoy heavy oak - it can tend towards a harshness for me. But I didn't find the oak to be harsh here. The DR contrasts sharply with the two whiskeys I mentioned above. While I found the Harmony to be too delicate, the Yamazaki DR is quite robust - much more so than most Japanese whiskeys I've tried. And I very much prefer the DR to the 12, which I find to have a few funky notes. The DR is a really well integrated mix of sweet, spice, and wood. My review is based on a sample, but I'm looking forward to obtaining a full bottle.

The wife is heading to Chicago on business at the end of next week and I'm tagging along so we can spend the weekend in the Windy City.  It seemed appropriate to prepare for the trip by imbibing the sample of Delilah's XXV that I recently acquired. I found the nose to be fairly mild - sherry, fruit, and malt.  The palate has more malt and fruit, and a heavy dose of oak.   It is rich, bold and full.  The finish is a bit hotter than I expected given the age of the whiskeys that were used, but not at all unpleasant.   So overall, very nice, although it's more oakey than I prefer.  At the going rate of about $100, I'm on the fence about purchasing it, even though it gets a few bonus points for another great Compass Box label and a cool tie-in to Delilah's Chicago.  The bottom line is that I might want to spend my Compass Box allocation elsewhere. Speaking of Delilah's, the wife has a business dinner the night before our weekend begins, so I think I'll head over to experience it firsthand.  Hopefully I'll come away with a good whiskey tale or two.

I'm heading into a Highland/Speyside peated whiskey kick, thanks to the arrival of a recent order from The Whiskey Exchange.  I started with the Ancnoc Flaughter.   This was my first Ancnoc.  I came without any particular expectations, and was pleasantly surprised.   The first and biggest surprise was the level of peatiness throughout - nose, palate and finish.  It's certainly not Laphroaig or Ardbeg, but it's the dominating note, and it's a very pleasant barbeque peat.   Second, there was no youthful harshness. Finally, the sweetness was present, but nicely layered and not overpowering. After I got past the surprises, I did note a couple of downsides.  First, it's quite simple overall, even if the two dominant aspects (peat and sweet) are quite nice.  In addition, the sweetness is rather nondescript - fruity, but hard to place specifically.  I'll soon see how this stacks up against some of the other drams that I have waiting, including the Ancnoc Cutter.  As of now, my take is that it's not compelling enough to throw it on the "buy" list, but I would never be unhappy drinking it.

What whiskys would I compare to Nikka Coffey Grain? Definitely the Chita Single Grain. Outside of Japan, probably the Teeling Single Grain, and maybe the Glendalough Double Barrell Single Grain. In the US, perhaps Hudson Baby Bourbon or Balcones Baby Blue. I generally like corn heavy grain whiskeys, including all of the ones listed above. But for my palate, the Coffey Grain stands head and shoulders above all of them. While enjoyable, the other whiskeys tend towards being less complex and having a somewhat harsh alcohol bite. Not so the Nikka. It has a more muted vanilla note that is well balanced with some lighter fruits - a note of orange and a tropical fruit that I can't place. Overall, it is smooth and quite full for a grain. The going rate for a bottle in my area is about $60. While that probably includes a bit of a Japanese Whisky markup (maybe 20-25% in this case?) I find the Coffey grain to be very enjoyable and I intend to keep it in stock in my home collection.