Compass Box Hedonism

Here's to another chance to review this beautiful blended scotch from the geniuses at Compass Box. Hedonism. I originally tried this blend in their wonderful 5 flavor sample pack. It was a very nice presentation that, while somewhat expensive, did showcase their core whiskies perfectly. Hedonism and Peat Monster were clearly the stars of the sampler, but the other 3 were also quite tasty. Anyway, onto Hedonism...this is an incredible blend of several Lowland malts that are then aged again in ex-bourbon casks. Most Lowland whiskies I've had are very light on the nose and the palate. Soft, floral and mostly sweet. Hedonism takes those qualities and adds a layer of American bourbon overtop and melds them together quite gracefully. Vanilla, lemon merengue pie, marshmallow and a bit of fresh oak are all present on the nose and follow through to the palate. The finish is soft and sweet, lingering just long enough to make you crave another sip. I've had several newer blends from John Glaser and CBW so I can't say this is my favorite from them, but it sure as hell is a wonderful dram to finish off dinner with in place of a decadent dessert. The price is also pretty reasonable so there really is no reason to keep a bottle of this on hand for guests that want to venture into scotch. This would make a big splash at an entry level tasting event. Seek it out and take that step into higher quality blended whisky, you won't be disappointed. Thanks to Paul for sending me another sample of this one. I'm so glad I could give it another go and improve on my initial review on Barreled. Thanks, brother. Cheers.

Considering this is all grain blend, it's really silky smooth. My very few experiences with grain whiskey (Nikka and Teeling) have been unimpressive because of the rough edges. I think what Glaser has done here is prove that not all grain is harsh i f blended correctly. This is definately a hot weather sipper---you get coconuts, vanilla and butter smooth creaminess. Finish is short and smooth. Now---if we pivot to value for money...I'm not sure this is a convincing buy considering it's all grain, little to no complexity. Instead his Great King street is a much better VFM. If you look at the numbers, data kind of proves the VFM. Price per avg rating is 18 in Great King st, while 19 here. (Lower the number, the better VFM)

Hedonism indeed. Compass Box has a lot to offer the scotch community and they show their brilliance in a dram of this.

Unique flavor that I really enjoyed.