ctbeck11
Compass Box Hedonism
Blended Grain — Scotland
Reviewed
March 11, 2021 (edited January 7, 2022)
Nose - creamy vanilla, oat, butter cookie, lime zest, floral notes, toffee, cereal grain, apple, pear, nutmeg, dusty corn, coconut, cinnamon, sweet oak, subtle banana, white pepper, mild to moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - toffee, creamy vanilla, cinnamon, nutmegs, floral notes, cereal grain, oat, honey, lemon and lime zest, brown sugar, toasted coconut, apple, banana, butter cookie, black pepper, ginger, mint, chili pepper, sweet corn, fresh oak, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with toffee, cereal grain, citrus zest, and chili pepper flavors.
The nose is very delicate. A little fruity, a little spicy, a little vanilla-y, a little grainy. The palate is similar with the addition of more oak and prickly pepper notes. The aromas and flavors can be found, but they’re rather elusive. It took much longer than usual for me to pull out the notes. I don’t think the name Hedonism matches the experience. Something like Subtlety or maybe even Elegance seems more fitting. I think it’s better than the entry level Compass Box expressions, but it’s still rather grainy and a bit sour, with an unfortunately short finish.
I’m split on this one. I think it rates right between a 3.5 and a 4.0 for me. Since this is $100 a bottle at the local stores, I’m going with the lower rating. However, I can see why many reviewers score this very highly. There are sophistication and beauty in the nuance. In the future, I’d like to try some of the other variations of Hedonism that contain older stock. Many thanks to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing the sample. This is one I’ve wanted to taste for a long time, but never had the opportunity until now.
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I agree fully. Masterful simplicity.
@ctbeck11 Look for batches from 2017 or earlier.
@cascode Good to know. Maybe I’ll run across an old dusty bottle and give it a try.
@ctbeck11 Yes, spot on - the older Hedonism blends were more hedonistic and I agree it's now better called "elegance", or maybe "panache". The blend formula has changed radically over the years.
@CKarmios Yes! I should have called out that point in the review. It’s certainly the best grain whiskey I’ve encountered.
Kudos to Compass Box for making a very compelling grain-only blend