PBMichiganWolverine
Compass Box Orangerie
Flavored Whiskey — Scotland
Reviewed
June 4, 2016 (edited September 2, 2019)
I love whisky. I love oranges. What if they have a whisky that taste like subtle oranges??!!?! Yeah, sign me up, and here's my $50. Not so fast hombre. I love popcorn and I love pizza. But popcorn on pizza may not be the ideal marriage. I really admire John Glaser and Compass Box for their experiments, and most are amazing. This one...not so. The nose is like sitting in an orange juice factory. Can't hate that. I can smell this for breakfast. (Now if Compass Box can work on whisky that taste like eggs and bacon, here's another $50!!). Palette really is like biting into an orange tictac. Sweet, orange-y. What did I expect? And finish---fast and....guess what? Orange-y!!! Really unique. Worthwhile to,try, but not sure it's a must buy situation, unless you really (and I mean REALLY ) love oranges. Ironically, right after I purchased this, I suddenly recalled I had a dram of Amrut Naarangie (which means Oranges in Hindi) at Heathrow. I think that was much better, more subtle. Less like you took a shower with oranges and more like you took a whiff of oranges while having a drink. Meanwhile Mr. Glaser...if you can conjure up that eggs and bacon whisky...
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Sounds like a mouthful of Cointreau lol...
Okay so I found out the mistake I was making with this. Firstly, don't treat it like scotch. So...no one spoon of water or one cube of ice. Instead, have a dark chocolate or on a very hot day.
I'm thinking/hoping that rise of the boutique/ Maverick whiskeys here in the US will keep me in "good spirits" if the collectors price me out of the single malt Scotch and premium bourbons. There are some pretty decent pours to be had with price points starting about $30. That will save me from the likes of Kentucky Gentleman ( but I gotta tell you that Old Overholt at $12/bottle is a pretty decent rye!).
GEOJACK: That's on par with my thinking - that artificially produced flavor. MATTIJS: Fair point, and you are correct, it is a flavoring. However, that flavor is naturally added and over time. What Vodka has/is is unnaturally adding syrups to enhance the profile and create/fill a mass market need at the expense at "cheaping" the Vodka brand style (generally speaking). PRANY: Totally agree - This is a business and maximizing profits and market share and that all make sense. "If you build it, they will come". Lol. And lastly, Ralfy via DAVIE I think is dead on - the boom will end when good whisk(e)y is kept out of the masses due to affordability. The consumer will simply move on to the next thing - (GIN??? - ha ha/hmmmm). Great discussion all around.
(I'm DEFINABLY NOT in the 1%, but as the beloved Ralfy always says, distributors will charge whatever the believe they can get away with, and even prophesies the end of the whisky boom when actual drinkers get priced out of the market by the collectors...
I guess in the same token, strictly from a business perspective, the revenues of vodka are far greater than single malts. From that perspective, maybe the Distillers trying to look from that market growth side. Personally, I think rather than flavorings or limited releases, the bigger issue is now single malts and some blends (esp Compass Box) have become the drink for the 1%. The price of entry for a good single malt starts at $50. And only a handful of names come in that range. To me, that exclusivity is a bigger issue than anything else.
Totally agree with Scott. Distiller's really getting creative ( not in s good way) between "limited releases" and now flavored whisky,
Scott: playing the devil's advocate here, but on the other hand, whisky is already "flavored" through cask maturation. Especially single malts are getting external flavors by the use of bourbon/sherry/etc casks. Surely, the maturation infuses a much more interesting flavor profile into a whisky, but I would say it's not fundamentally different from adding spices or something similar.
I completely agree Scott E. I love maple flavored bacon but I won't bother with maple flavored bourbon. I've made my own bourbon flavored bacon, but I don't think I want bacon in my bourbon. That said, a little twist of orange in an otherwise neat whiskey is nice when I can add the flavoring myself - as much or as little as suits me.
I unfortunately see whisk(e)y starting to head down the same historical path as Vodka: Absolute, Grey Goose, etc and then the flavored vodka's and then all this "manufactured" marketed saccharine superficial spirit. I just hope that whisk(e)y learn from this and remember their roots.