Compass Box Magic Cask

sweet waxy , red apple, vanilla smell. Light spice cayenne, sweet banana cake. Creamy nice toffee. Nice retro taste not to long.

Notning special about this except the story behind it.

Nose: Orchard fruit (plum, apple, pear), chocolate, aniseed Palate: Sweet, canned fruit - peaches, icing sugar, oak, nutmeg, ginger in syrup Finish: Medium long finish. Citrus, sweet icing sugar, strawberries and pepper, coffee. Dry/citrus aftertaste Creamy mouthfeel. Sweet and orchard fruit. Turning dry and souring/citrus on the aftertaste. Youthful and easy to drink.

Creamy, creamsicle, oranges and berries

A suprisingly good dram, this "Magic Cask" is one of Compass Box newer labels. Limited to 5.538 bottles, this is a blended malt made 92% of whisky that came from the mothballed distillery Imperial; and, 8% from a re-racked 1 year old malt spirit of robust character which was matured for extra 2 years in first fill Oloroso-seasoned butts. One special cask, allegedly the #2, held the blend, and "magic happened" (you got to love Compass Box marketing to actually sell you a 3yo whisky, lol). Bottled at 46%abv, pale straw color. On the nose, incredibly fresh. Super orange, lovely red fruits, some nuttiness rising, very fresh. After the first sip the aroma was all about coffee beans, a freshly cut orange; Vanilla custard mixed with nuts. Snickers bar. The palate is a simply transition between aroma and afterstate. Nutty, Snickers bar and then a salt explosion happem all of a sudden. Aftertaste was Impressive. Cigarretes, nice smokiness; pepper. Sulphuric but balanced; super enjoyable finish. Rewarding. Overall this is a not too complex, but absolutely enjoyable blended malt. It is so good, anyone who tastes it will feel happy, and it is useful for introducing people to the world of whisky. The fruitiness blends amazingly with the peatiness and the nuttiness. My score for it is a solid 90 over 100. You could say it is magic for a 3yo whisky. Sláinte.

Fresh, citrus, cream soda, licorice

This starts out on a very similar path to the Imperial 20-year-old I sampled as an appetizer: austere and minerally. But things liven up considerably mid-palate with a burst of pineapple cubes at the back of the mouth and a bouquet of crisp, bright fruits. And while the single malt Imperial finished short, this blend has a long coda of apples and canned clementines. Like a wet brush on a magic painting book, the Aberlour brings out the colors in this blend to great effect.

Cool name. Check. Tiger jumping through a golden ring of fire. Check. Another stellar golden elixir from my favorite scotch label. Let's see how it plays out. This one was pretty hard to come by and was at the upper end of what I like to spend on a bottle, but it is Compass Box so I took the leap. Nose is sweet. Really sweet. Cherry cordial, cotton candy, all over laying a very subtle smokiness. Honestly you would probably miss the peat altogether if you weren't looking for it. First sip is not what I was expecting from the nose. This one is soft on the front end with light almond notes and hints of cinnamon apple. Then the light peat shows up with some gentle alcohol heat that is a little unusual for the Compass Box drams I am most fond of. The tail brings a soft burn, but not any overwhelming flavors. Am I glad I found this bottle? Absolutely. Am I glad I took the dive at this price point? Yes. Should you? Probably not unles you are a Compass Box junkie like me. The number of great vs good bottles will always keep me squarely in the Compass Box camp, but this one didn't knock my socks off as I had hoped. Still a solid bottle that any CB fan would enjoy.