Compass Box The Peat Monster Cask Strength: Origin Story

An intense, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky by John Glaser. It has an aromatic birth with notes of grain, wood, earth, tree fruits, spices, dried herbs & flowers; while a bold & slightly creamy life adds notes of crisp green apple, lemon curd, orange oil, vanilla & salted caramel; that led to a long & warm death with notes of cayenne pepper, oak, cinnamon, roasted almonds, salty seaweed, sooty barbecue smoke & tar. October 2023

One of Compass Box most popular expressions from the core range is the famous Peat Monster. It seems that the tentacle smokey creature had an origin story, which takes us to New York, where John Glaser created a peaty whisky that they called it "a monster" for the Goldstein Family at Park Avenue Liquor Shop in 2003. Then, with the recipe already done, they released the peat monster for ever. This is the cask strength version of that one, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. It is called, Peat Monster Origin Story. Bottled at 56.7%abv, it is described as Skyscrappers of smoke. On the nose, well delivered peat. Gooseberries, rubber, merthiolate, red chilli and caramelized onions. After a first sip, i got grapefruit and lotion for burnt skin. On the palate, it starts with a very fancy vanilla note, gooseberries, ashes and gunpowder. Corn flakes. After a first sip, flavor changed into a waxy white chocolate. Aftertaste is rich in peat. Gunpowder, fireworks, bonfire. Smoky stuff. Nice. Overall, i have the same critic for the cask strength version, that i had when i tasted the core range one: it is not THAT peaty. When you have a whisky called "The Peat Monster" you expect this to be something like a powerful Lagavulin or an Ardbeg Supernova. Actually it is a very velvety and easy to enjoy whisky, that most people would love and can be used as a first glimpse to the peat world for unexperienced drinkers. Not bad at all, just not a peat monster, my score for it is 89 over 100.