Tastes

This one was just a tad fruity for my taste. But take that with a grain of salt, I generally don't enjoy sherry, port or really any wine cask finishes. The nose packs a punch of bright, red fruits. Raspberries, cherries and the like. That smell then carries into the realm of vanilla with just a dash of honey roasted nuts. But the fruit is by far the dominant trait on the nose. Tart berries open up the taste but soon give way to some wood spice with a bit of astringent wood char. I may have caught a wisp of citrus, which adds to the tart quality. The tartness from the citrus / berries carries to the finish but with it some interesting cedar wood at the end. It has a medium length, fairly full bodied finish. This one just hits middle of the road for me. You could do better but, you could do much worse, too. Try a dram if you're into fruit forward whiskies.

After falling head over heels for Week of Peat 14 year, I've become enamored by this line from Balvenie. When I saw that there was a 17 year bottling available at my favorite local spot, I shelled out the money for it, no questions asked. The nose is decidedly less smoky than 14 year. In fact, the nose on this whisky is decided less smoky than most peated whiskies I have tried, blended or single malt. It is still there, hanging like a low fog around sweet honey and a little kiss of briny ocean water. The tail end of the nose sweetens up with those Danish butter cookies but just for a fleeting moment. The front of the taste starts with vanilla and a little bit of baking spices. As the taste moves along, that baking spice tingle softens up but does linger in the background. Yes, the peat smoke is there but it is so faint that one could almost mistake this for a non peated whisky. A buttery sweetness returns from the nose but this time, in the form of butterscotch and cream then departs quickly as the baking spice boomerangs back into full force, ushering in the finish. The finish on this whiskey is big on tannic oak and sweet. With the peat smoke almost undetectable at this point, the finish gets a flash of tart and sweet raspberries before being carried off by a rolling wave of tannins, bringing with it a slightly powdery mouth feel. Think: dark cocoa powder. That harmonic dance of sweet and bitter fades off into the sunset along with that familiar baking spice from earlier. Wow. What a stunning whisky this is. But be forewarned - if you are looking for gobs of peat smoke... the kind that makes your eyes sting and your nose burn... this is not the whiskey for you. In fact, I would venture to say that this could be the peated whisky of choice for those who aren't quite on board with peated whisky. It is so gentle that it eases you into the category and at the same time offers up beautiful complexity with palate pleasing sweetness. Its too bad the cost of admission is rather high.

What a blast from the past. Many years ago, when I was between jobs and money was tight I had to indulge my whiskey appetite on more affordable bottles like Cedar Ridge. Although the old bottling was at a paltry 80 proof, it actually made for a very easy sipping and inoffensive drink. And then sadly, they killed it off. Fast forward 6 years later and I see a familiar name in a not-so-familiar bottle. Cedar Ridge is back? Well, you know I just had to try it and take a stroll down memory lane. The nose is interesting on this one. Not what I remember, but that was many years and dozens of whiskies later. Smells a bit like saw dust and cherries. The taste is absolutely different than I remember. Gone are the lashings of sweet corn and with that comes a little vanilla and brown sugar riding on a plank of cedar which is a unique aspect for sure. Interesting... I think this whiskey actually does Cedar wood better than Kamiki who make a whiskey specifically aged in Cedar casks. The finish is where this whiskey shines. As the taste goes down that finish blooms beautifully and takes over your mouth. Its sweet and fruity with a bit of corn. Reminds me of a bowl of Apple Jacks, mixed with vanilla soy milk and a dusting of sugar. Its actually quite pleasant, albeit very short. But hey, in this price category did you expect a long oily finish? In the $40 something category this newer Cedar Ridge Straight Bourbon can really hold its own. Quite good and interesting indeed... but I do still miss the old 80 proof stuff I used to get from Grocery Outlet for $28 a bottle.

Short of Artist and Glasgow Blends, Hedonism is one of the final core offerings from Compass Box I've yet to give a thorough, honest taste of. Granted, I once tasted this Whisky years ago, as I was just starting to appreciate good whisky but far before I had the ability to TRULY appreciate good whiskey. The nose certainly conjures up images of sweet, creamy indulgence. Vanilla and Coconut are blended with thick, sweet cream. A bit of baking spice mixes up the aroma as well as slightly bittersweet cacao right at the end. What a deliciously sweet taste! Warm, gooey caramel gets this dessert-like party started. The mouth feel is incredibly creamy as the sweetness pours on, albeit just a hair away from being cloying. ( Heavy peat fans might find this blend way too sweet. ). Vanilla cream with coconut fills your mouth and nose as the taste goes down, absolutely sensational. The finish is medium in length and keeps that creaminess that makes the taste so unique. Coconut macaroons and vanilla ride that creaminess off into the sunset. My God this one is stunning. I hope Compass Box keeps Hedonism in that core lineup for decades to come because it is far and away their best, standard offering.

Spice Tree was one of my first forays into the Compass Box line many years ago. As time went on, my palate became a bit more mature and so, I decided to give Spice Tree another go. On the nose, cloves and candied ginger mix with some citrus and chocolate and reminds me of the holidays for some reason. Maybe it reminds me of spiced orange cider? Cinnamon spice, cocoa and honey blossom from the taste. I rather like when whiskies do that, rather than a jarring and abrupt taste up front. As the taste opens up, sweet and fizzy orange cider takes center stage, pulling in the cinnamon from earlier. The finish is relatively short and spicy. The sweet tongue prickling sensation of cinnamon kicks off the finish. A familiar and slightly musty old leather jacket peaks its head through the spice for a quick moment before being buried in something tannic and sweet all at once. For the price and being a core selection that is readily available anywhere, this is certainly worth a try. Its complex, sweet and spicy and really hits the spot. This would make an excellent bottle for sipping over the holidays.

The first thing that comes to mind on the nose is roasted seaweed. Slightly smoky, very savory with a bit of sea water brine. Reminds me of a warm summer's eve bonfire. Try as I might, I can't detect anything beyond that on the nose. Perhaps due to my tendencies to avoid the overly peated ( think Lagavulin ) and erring more towards sweet peat ( think Balvenie 14 Year Peat ) I feel like the taste here is dominated by peat smoke. But I will try my best to describe how this tastes. Holding this whisky in your mouth and swirling it about really does wonders for its complexity. Initially, I had my first taste in the short and sweet fashion and I tasted nothing but Peat Smoke. When really examining this whisky however, the underlying quality of the entire taste throughout is a bit of beach bonfire. That brininess on the nose remains but blends with slightly damp, burning fire wood. Dark chocolate mingles with very tart raspberries mid taste to deliver a powerful one two punch of bittersweet. As the sweet departs, the bitterness stays. Its a bit medicinal and I found it slightly unpleasant but luckily it was only for a fleeting moment as the finish draws out with a return of the briny, roasted seaweed over an open bonfire quality. I can appreciate that the name of this selection is "The Peat Monster". So clearly, peat smoke will be the dominant flavor profile. But there are significantly more elegant, complex and delicious ways to get your hint of peat smoke, albeit at a significantly higher SRP than Peat Monster. For Example: Compass Box's limited release - Flaming Heart. Delicious. For this monster though? Maybe slightly better than average.

The nose jumps out of the glass bursting with fruit. Prunes and dried cherries fight for dominance in a pool of honey. In the background: just a faint hint of musty leather. This nose is about a sherry cask as it gets. The oily and viscous taste is dominated by candied fruits similar to what you'd find in fruitcake. Beeswax and honey swirl with the fruit but by far the dominant taste throughout is fruit. An interesting turn happens as the finish starts, the aforementioned beeswax on the taste leaves a bit of powdery mouthfeel and a bittersweet cacao taste. Think: powdered dark chocolate. Sweetness comes back for the finale bringing with it a bit of a spicy bite like candied ginger. The finish is short and leaves your mouth feeling quite dry. Hm... probably my least favorite Compass Box so far. That said, it isn't terrible. If your thing is fruity whisky you might actually enjoy this much more than I did but for me this is a solid "average".

I bought a bottle of the Circle No 2 knowing almost nothing about this particular blend from Compass Box except for the fact that generally, Compass Box does not produce bad whisky. Sometimes you've just got to close your eyes and take the plunge.... The nose on this is incredibly bright and fruit forward. It brings to mind a whole host of light colored fruits. Tangy pineapples swirled together with canned peaches in that thick sugary syrup with some honey thrown in for good measure. There's a bright pop of citric acidity, brings to mind freshly cut tangerines. The tail end of the nose pulls back that brightness, mixing in some beeswax and raisins. The front of the taste is bursting with sweet fruit. Pineapple and apples drizzled with honey and vanilla. It instantly fills your mouth with sweet and tart, taking you to a warm summer afternoon picnic. Mid taste switches up the flavor profile, a little bit of candied raisins sit between the tail of the taste and start of the finish. Peppercorn spice takes center stage as the finish turns decidedly toward a spicier route. Baking spices join in on the fun and are swept away by a wave of honey and milk chocolate. You can really notice that sweet kick at the end of the finish if you press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Another great blend by Compass Box indeed. Perhaps a little too fruit forward for my personal tastes, but I can see this appealing to a large audience.

This is one of those limited releases you can still likely find on the shelf at Total Wine or Bevmo which is shocking. I was very excited to try this until I got home, had a good look at the bottle and read that this Bourbon was considered "high rye". I'm not a rye lover and this sort of made me less excited to try this bourbon... but would it disappoint? The nose is classic bourbon with a zing. Caramel starts the show but is quickly joined by bittersweet baking spices and orange peel. Sweet, thick honey rounds out the end of the nose. The taste initially starts sweet with a warm and viscous mouth feel. Caramel slowly melts on your tongue and slightly bitter orange pith rides on the back of a bit of honey which bridges the taste with the finish. That finish ushers in the rye spice we were expecting from a high rye blend but also some spicy cinnamon. A bit of musty leather rounds out the finish with a powdery mouth feel, reminding you that this is a higher proof bourbon. More complex than Heaven's Door and certainly a significantly less sweet take on Bourbon, Heaven's Door Decade Series is definitely worth a taste. This bourbon is complex but somehow rounds out the taste by softening the transitions on the taste and finish themselves, not an easy feat. Go pick up a bottle while you still can.

Orchard House snuck into Compass Box's core lineup while the world was trapped indoors trying to avoid the rona. After tasting the Godsend that is Flaming Heart, I've become much more interested in Compass Box as a whole. Of course, I had to buy a bottle of Orchard House to give it a go. Such a fruity nose! Apples and pears sitting amongst some sweet, floral beeswax. The taste is surprisingly not overwhelmed with fruit. Mildly spicy and sweet anise takes center stage as the taste opens up. Midway through you get some hints of almond cookie. The finish is a little shorter on this one but continues with the sweet spicy anise. It trails off with a whisper of peat right at the very tail end. What a good, solid sipper this one is. And for the price, it could easily become a daily. I really cannot think of many $50 and under bottles that can swing at this level.