jonwilkinson7309
Compass Box Flaming Heart (Sixth Edition)
Blended Malt — Scotland
Reviewed
September 26, 2019 (edited May 1, 2021)
Like many of you, I love Compass Box. Basically every CB whisky - core offerings, limited editions, peated or non-peated, super experimental or classic expressions. While it would be nice to have one of each, CB puts out a lot of different whiskies (22 current offerings, based on the on the CB website), with a fairly high rate of turnover for the special editions. So I'm trying to be a bit selective.
I've been particularly curious about the Flaming Heart, so it was an easy pick from the Franklin Room's menu.
It lived up to my expectations - peaty, bold and a nice fruit sweetness. No bitterness, not an off note to be found and a nice smokey finish. Nevertheless, I really wish I could have tried it alongside Peat Monster, which I recall as being very similar, and considerably cheaper. And at $100+, the Flaming Heart has strong competition from a few other CB offerings. So is it a buy?
In the immediate term, I answered the buy question the following day at Binny's in Lincoln Park (a great tip from @ANTONIOSCHMID). The Compass Box selection at Binny's was phenomenal, as was the selection of local craft whiskeys and just about everything else. Hard choices were inevitable. The Flaming Heart was on sale for $114, but in the end, I chose two different CB's - a first edition No Name, simply because of the degree to which the whisky senseis here rave about it, and the Lost Blend, because it also has some fine reviews and I suspect it will be a bit different from other CB peated offerings.
However, it looks like the availability of the current Flaming Heart is good, and I haven't ruled out a purchase yet.
The Franklin Room
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
Not a huge fan of Compass Box, but recently had Peat Monster for the first time the other day and I thought it was great. Great review.
@LeeEvolved I get the feeling. I keep buying things just so I can taste them, but there’s really only a handful of bottles I’d really be interested in keeping around, but I’ve got so many that it’ll take me years to get through them...
@Soba45 - yeah, I know that feeling all too well, also. I kept saying it was long overdue for me to stop buying and start consuming what I had. This is more along the lines of being overworked and dealing with extended family issues. The scary part is that I haven’t really missed the drinking aspect. I typed up my last review about a week ago and I’m completely caught up with everything I’ve sampled so far. I have 2 open bottles I need to sit down with, along with a sample or two from trades, and that’s it. I fear I might be going dark on social media here very soon unless the urge kicks in again. 😆
@LeeEvolved The wind down to retirement? I went the other way briefly after no bottles for a year bought 11 all at once plus another 25 samples...I feel like a addict who was clean for a year then had a relapse...haha
@PBMichiganWolverine Its a sign of things to come..a lot of indicators out there. Let the unwinding of all the debt / leverage begin....sometime at an unknown point in the future most likely sooner than later!
@Richard-ModernDrinking @LeeEvolved I read a recent article that this last time was the first they saw a dip in auction prices. In fact, some auction houses are offering discounts and incentives. They saying Brexit, US -China fights, and global trade. I’m thinking it’s neither...it’s actually Lee.
And I probably marked it wrong...like I did to Paul and Dubz
@PBMichiganWolverine - you sent that sample along with that blind tasting, didn’t you? Everything was marked with a single letter, so all I did was drink through them without taking many notes. There was no way of knowing which one was the No Name 2, so sadly- I don’t remember a thing about it. 🤦♂️
@Richard-ModernDrinking - lol, my personal finances finally crashed over the summer. I’m sure Scotch Whisky Auctions has launched an investigation because I haven’t even bid on a bottle the last 3 auctions. I think I’ve averaged $750 per, since spring 2018.
@LeeEvolved That’s market-moving news akin to China freezing soybean purchases. Auction prices will crash!
@LeeEvolved I sent you a sample of the No Name 2...I’ve not tried it yet though as well
You won’t be too concerned with buying a bottle of Flaming Heart after you crack open the No Name bottle. I wish I had bought a few more of those. It’s their best peated whisky to date. I’d like to get my hands on the second release of No Name, but alas, I’ve frozen my whisky spending account.
I’m not sure if it’s madness or not, but even their Uber-premium stuff sells out ( eg, Tobias and the Angel, ‘3’, Circus)
Great, honest review. I think many folks here (myself included) are big Compass Box fans. I’m particularly fond of Peat Monster and Spice Tree, and like you, struggle with the price point of the limited editions. I’m curious what you think of No Name. It’s mostly Ardbeg so I wonder if it’s much different from any of the Ardbeg core range.