Compass Box The Peat Monster

Subdued smoke, lots of brine, slight earthiness, custard, citrus. Short finish. Before I read anything about what's in the blend, I would've said it's very Coal Ila. I do get a little of the Laphroaig. Could've probably been fooled into thinking this was HP as well. It's not bad, but not something I'd reach for often.

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.

My favorite chewing scotch! Here’s to a successful fantasy baseball draft!