The Unholy Triumvirate is a series of four different finishes of Compass Box’s Great King St Artist’s Blend created for a trio of stores in Massachusetts. Each version was produced by putting the regular blend into a cask that previously held another whisky and leaving it there for a year of secondary maturation. These single marrying casks, to use the Compass Box terminology, each produced between 240 and 318 bottles at a punchy ABV of 49%. That compares to 43% for the regular blend, so they should stand out for their extra kick of alcohol as well as their secondary maturation flavors. Despite their limited nature, these bottles hadn’t exactly flown off the shelves in the store I found them in, and they were marked down from $50 to $40 each. At that price, it was easy to make a case for buying a set, if only to save you fine people the trouble of doing so. I didn’t have a bottle of the regular blend on hand to do a level set when tasting these over a couple of nights, but it’s a lovely whisky that I rated four stars a couple of years ago for its easy-drinking qualities and light summery flavors. The marrying casks for the most part taste bolder and more suited to a different season or occasion. I enjoyed them all, but if there was one that I thought was worth buying instead of or in addition to the regular blend, it was cask #31. This was finished in a cask that previously held a Highland malt and the wood has added some delicious harmonies to the original spirit. There’s malt and ginger tea on the nose, while the bready flavors in the mouth bring to mind sourdough with a touch of salt. It feels full and robust on the tongue, feisty even. The aftertaste wraps up the malty theme with a round of buttered toast. I’ll post brief notes for the other three on their respective pages. I rate them three stars a piece and while they’re not as special as this cask they are all well worth sampling if you come across them.