Compass Box Great King St Artist's Blend Single Marrying Cask (Bounty Hunter)

So, this is a single cask variation of Compass Box’s Great King St Artist’s Blend. This is a single cask bottling done and offered to several independent retailers worldwide. This particular batch was allotted to Bounty Hunter Wine & Spirits out of Napa Valley, CA. It’s limited to 228 total bottles. The regular Artist’s Blend is composed of 46% grain whisky from Cameron Bridge, 29% Clynelish, 17% CBW Highland Malt blend and 8% Linkwood. This Marrying Cask bottle takes that original Artist Blend, replaces it back into a single cask and ages it for an additional year. This was cask #69, which previously held the original Cameron Bridge grain whisky used. It’s then re-bottled at or near cask strength of 49%. Re-casked in Feb 2016, bottled in Feb 2017. Other batches of the Marrying Cask were refilled into different types of previously used casks, so they should also offer different takes on the original Artist’s Blend. The nose on this one is strong oak, vanilla and soft fruits. The near-50% grain whisky used really dominates the nose here, but it’s still sweet and rich. The palate showcases apples and similar fruits, light sherry, vanilla and some spices. It’s obviously a little harder on the tongue, thanks to the higher ABV, but it’s still relatively smooth. The finish remains heavy on the oak, long and warming, while revealing some astringent grain notes. Overall, I can’t say this is much better or different than the original Artist Blend. The fact this is $20 more per bottle doesn’t bode well in the VFM category. It’s still a solid, smooth-ish blend, but I think this one is more suited for those that like their whisky more “in your face”. It would be cool to try to put together a complete collection of all the Marrying Cask offerings, but that is probably going to be hard to do given the various stores offered the exclusive, single casks. As it is, it’s still 3.5-3.75 stars. Cheers and thanks for reading this. Buy more Compass Box folks, they deserve our money.