Compass Box The Circle No. 2

Very, very fruity blend. Garden, orchard fruits dominate - apricots, pears and apples. They all feel very sweet, perfectly ripe, but also wrapped in honey for more sweetness. On the palate, this whisky is a sugary fruit dessert with cool notes of garden-hued pepper. Again, a strong fruit influence, but here in the exotic range - mango and passionfruit. The finish is hesitantly warming, strongly honeyed.

Note d'ananas avec un arrière gout de vin blanc très sec

I kept passing on this one because my local shop incorrectly priced it at over 200. But they finally brought it to 144 which seemed fair and of course...all but ONE box somehow got seriously damaged! So I grabbed the pristine box and pulled the trigger. Nose - hot damn, this is a mix of orchard and tropical fruits. Clean, with a hint of wax, and light spice notes. But overall this is one of the most fruity and enticing noses I've experienced from Compass Box. Honestly, it's outstanding! Taste - It arrives with these lovely honey and tropical fruit notes, turns to light spice and rich breakfast sweet pastry notes, then turns up the spice to very european type sherry oak notes before leaving a long lingering sweetness. Oddly with so many references to sherry, the color is pretty nice gold but hardly the red hues you'd expect. That said I get plenty of sherry but perfectly blended with nice classic compass box toasted oak notes. They really gave this whisky the richness and the fullness of a very old whisky while turning some youthful spice into a feature and not a flaw. 3.75 - one of my favorite Compass Box Bottles in a number of years. This is a whisky that punches well above it's weight.

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.

Lovely nose, very frwsh, tropical fruits, light spice. Great medium body, tannins, sherry notes, cinnamon and cloves light smoke on the medium short finish.