Tastes

Took a break from the whisky game to reset my palette (and liver). Excited to try another Compass Box product. Spice Tree is a beautifully rich dram but a bit overpriced. Nose: Citrus peel, blood orange?, cinnamon and red apples. Taste: Ginger, allspice, clove, very hot, bursts of cherry syrup. Wave after wave of flavor. Creamy mouthfeel. Finish: Toffee, vanilla, apples and honey, long and fruity. Wow! This has a very similar flavor profile to Aberlour. It’s the best blended Scotch I’ve ever had however I struggle to find a place for it. I personally prefer the dried fruit profile of Macallan and Glendronach and those have me covered on that end of the spectrum, but make no mistake folks this is quality stuff!

Charcoal lighter fluid sold as single malt scotch whisky, maybe I'll use it for that purpose. Did I get a bad bottle? Very few whiskies go into the undrinkable category, this one makes the hall of shame.

Been meaning to try more Compass Box whiskies after enjoying the Great King St. range. I’m also a big fan of Compass Box's graphic design as a creative professional. I wish I could buy framed prints of the labels. Nose: Bananas right off the bat, the caramelized bananas note from Stephanie is dead accurate. Vanilla gelato, some honey and cake frosting is revealed the longer it's in the glass. Not the most pungent but it’s all in there. Taste: Light bodied, spicy cinnamon and white pepper hits first, than honey sweetness. A bit scarce on the flavor and I expected more based on the nose. Finish: Spiced oak leads into a very sweet but short finish with little bitterness and not much complexity. Overall this is an excellent blended scotch that would make an nice daily dram. My problem with it lies in the price. At almost $60 after taxes there are far too many single malts I’d rather drink instead. Solid but forgettable.

Excited to try this one out after reading so much praise about it and the Springbank distillery. Nose: Citrus right up front followed by some earthiness and subtle smoke. As it develops in the glass more smoke and fruit comes through. Taste: Soft and creamy, rich sweet melon and citrus, mild spice, salt, vanilla, orchard apples. All married together by a perfect amount peat smoke. Very balanced and delicious. Finish: Lingering and evolving. Smoked salmon? dark nuts, hint of salted dark chocolate, spicy. Drys the mouth. I would put this in the same category with Talisker 10 and Highland Park 12. I prefer island drams over Islays when I’m in the mood for smoke, I usually find most Islays overwhelming with the peat. I think I still prefer Talisker over this but it is one of the best scotches I’ve had. Tastes like eating a melon over a bonfire on the beach!

Took a break from my quest to find quality cheap drams to try this out and boy did I enjoy this one. I actually avoided trying this for a while based on some of the negative reviews out there but I suspect it may be from people who nose and taste it right away, this is one needed time to breathe. Nose: Beautiful and pungent, my wife smelled it across the room. Citrus, Caramel, Light smoke and Honey nut cheerios? (Used to love it as a kid on saturday mornings) Taste: Not a very creamy mouthfeel and kinda thin. Sweet right off the bat than some Licorice, Baked apple, Raisins, Ginger, rich flavor despite the thin body. Finish: The initial sweetness fades away and reveals some walnuts, oak and dark chocolate on the tail end. Fairly long and evolving. One of the best 12 year olds I've tried so far. If all direct-fired still Scotches are like this I will seek out more. This one is going into the rotation.

The gateway drug. It's a staple food for me. My grocery list usually looks like this: Milk, Bread, Eggs, Chicken, Macallan 12....

Nose: Fermented fruit, earth, red wine, tobacco, leather, very muddy and confusing but interesting nonetheless. Taste: Thin mouthfeel, spent charcoal right off the bat which fades into syrupy dried fruit. Time in the glass and water reveals more orchard fruit and tones down the artificial smoke. Benefits from time in the glass and water. Finish: Long and drying, the smoke leads into some sweeter notes over time, more oak. The flavors just don't mesh very well here. Such a mucky whisky! E150 caramel must be used as the color just doesn't seem natural. Not a bad dram but I don't see myself buying another bottle. Disappointed by Bowmore so far.