Review 190: Compass Box Spice Tree

Review 190

12/9/13

Compass Box Spice Tree: 46% abv

Background: Getting more intense in the Compass Box range is the first 46% whisky offering. Spice Tree is another blended malt, and there is an obvious foreshadowing present in the name of this bottle that might hint you off to what it tastes like. Spice Tree is made up of 60% North Highland malt, 20% Highland malt, and 20% Speyside Malt, interestingly the same proportions as with Oak Cross. To add to the list of similarities, Spice Tree also uses American and French oak casks, but this time 80% of the aging takes place in the French oak. So, from a strictly theoretical standpoint, this could be a very similar whisky to Oak Cross. The fun part about it is we won’t know until we try it, which we’re going to do now!

Straight

Nose: Right out of the glass, you can tell this is a much different whisky than the Oak Cross. From a fresh start, this whisky smells more composed and refined than the Oak Cross, with a thicker nose demonstrating more maturity and complexity. There is a slight hint of savory red wine, with a rich malt and vanilla combination complimenting the aroma. It is spicy, with some white pepper and cloves gently introducing themselves from the glass. The oak in this whisky smells fresh and mellow, instead of harsh and sappy. There is crisp, fresh apple in the nose, which compliments the sweetness of the vanilla and malt. There is also some sweet molasses and caramel in the nose, which starts to become more noticeable and pleasant as the whisky opens up. The nose on this whisky is so much more composed than in Oak Cross, it feels like a different blender altogether.  

Arrival: With a bounty of sweet apple and malt in the arrival, this whisky quickly tells you it isn’t messing around. Sweet caramel and molasses, sugarcane, and a hint of brilliant spice. The oak in the arrival is pleasant and noticeable, but not rough or undrinkable. Left with enough time, a bit of spiciness will start to emerge on the palate, but becomes way more noticeable in the body. There is a bit of smokiness and leftover

Body: The body fulfills the prophecy that the label has foretold. There is some definite clove, allspice, and pepper in the body. It still holds on to the glorious maltiness, along with a certain amount of fruit. The balance of flavors in the body is remarkable. It might just be trying to compare Oak Cross to this that makes this seem like such a great whisky, but it truly is well balanced. There is a bit of mint and cinnamon that start to develop as well.

Finish: The finish of this whisky can only be described as succulent. Succulent apple, strawberry, and huge, full-flavored malty goodness make this finish worth basking in. The finish of this whisky steals the show without a doubt. The medley of balanced spice notes in the finish is still apparent, but it fades away as the sweeter notes replace them.  Given time though, this balance will change. This does have a striking semblance to Clynelish. There is also a slightly cool, refreshing experience to the whisky as well.

With Water

Nose: After adding water, the nose becomes slightly more fruity, with a bit of juicy ripe fruit coming across. The barley smell is softer and greener now, and there is a definite vegetal quality to the aroma that was not present before. There is some lavender and perfume-like smells that are starting to develop as well, getting almost floral in quality.

Arrival: With water, the fresh malt of the whisky, and savory, almost grape/wine like succulence of the flavor returns to the whisky. It is strikingly similar to before in taste, but there is a slightly better balance of flavors.

Body: The body has an almost Irish Whiskey character to it after adding water. There is an interesting mineral-like taste to it, with a nice earthiness and a healthy spice. The oak in the body is in healthy proportion.

Finish:  There is definitely a grainy, vegetal character to this whisky after adding water. The finish brings forth more earthy tones, while still keeping the fruit and spiciness dominant. The balance is enjoyable, although it is clear after a few swigs that the “Spice Tree” is still fighting for dominance. There is some spearmint present in the finish as well.

Final Comments: When the bottle was first opened, this whisky started off fairly succulent. Given enough time, the aforementioned spice will begin to flood the taste buds. It isn’t unpleasant at any point, though, and it tends to work for this whisky. The fullness of flavor is certainly present, and the oakiness to the finish is enjoyable. Adding water just enhances the balance and flavor contribution. It is sad to say, but Spice Tree just makes Oak Cross look WRONG. They are not similar in style, but they do have some commonalities that beg the question of why Oak Cross is so unpleasant. This is such a great whisky as it stands, and stands strong against solid bottlings like Clynelish 14 Year. This is truly demonstrates that Compass Box is capable of some great stuff.

 

Why you’d buy it: You like an intense, full whisky with some bite to it.

Why you wouldn’t: You didn’t bother reading this review and tried Oak Cross.

Score: 8.5/10

Review 189: Compass Box Oak Cross

Review 189

12/8/13

Compass Box Oak Cross: 43% abv

Background: Oak Cross is the first whisky in the range of Compass Box selection that is offered as a blended malt. Oak Cross is made up of 60% northern Highland single malt, 20% Highland single malt, and 20% Speyside Single Malt. It is aged for 60% of its life in first fill American Oak casks, and 40% of its life in new French Oak casks. It is still considered a relatively young whisky, we assume, but that shouldn’t be a terribly incriminating feature, considering how young Compass Box is as a company. It is also bottled slightly higher than Asyla, which gives it another plus. 

Straight

Nose: The nose for this whisky starts off with a slight maltiness, but quickly reveals some peculiar qualities. The nose does have a substantial saltiness to it, along with an odd note of baking soda. It is creamy, and has some vanilla overtones, with dried fruits and sawdust present. There is slight grapefruit citrus and pear, with a fresh medley of grain flavor. Overall, the baking soda seems to be an over-dominant flavor in the aroma, which creates an edgy, harsh nose. The nose is not terribly complex, nor is it thick or concentrated. That being said, the brininess to the nose can be enjoyable at times, and presents a very sea-salt like layer to the nose that is highly reminiscent of Old Pulteney 12 Year.

Arrival:  The arrival starts off with a quick introduction of maltiness, followed by saltiness and a hoppy/floral bitterness. The arrival is not hugely complex, with the same softness as the Asyla. It just packs a saltier punch. There is a sense of oakiness in the arrival, which tastes primarily American.

Body: There is an odd prominence of citrus and acidity in the body, which seems to disrupt the event of drinking this whisky. This seems fairly similar to Jura’s 10 year old whisky. As the whisky creeps into the body, a fluoride-like flavor develops. There is mild spiciness that starts to develop in the body, but it doesn’t take a dominant role until the finish.

Finish: The baking soda is back in full effect in the finish. There is a prominence of saltiness, tartness, and malt that pulls from the rest of the whisky. There is a clash of pepper and clove in the finish, along with vanilla and spicy oak. It feels like the French Oak is taking over at this point and really asserting its dominance. There is some hops-like bitterness in the finish as well.

With Water

Nose: Water does not seem to curb the salty, baking soda aromas from this whisky. In fact, it might even enhance them. There is a slight shoe polish type smell to this. In general don’t let somebody smell this before they try it, or they may never try it.

Arrival: The maltiness in the arrival opens up a lot more after adding water, and as the whisky hits the back of the tongue, a much more open flavor of fresh fruit and floral notes appears. It is a pleasant surprise in stark contrast to the baking soda. There is a substantial amount of apple in the arrival now as well.

Body: With a little bit of clove, gingerbread, and other dry spices, the mouthfeel in the body has become very dry. The body has eliminated some saltiness, which is good considering the extreme lack of balance that would have presented to the whisky.

Finish: Like the body, the mouthfeel in the finish is now incredibly dry, and the maltiness to the finish has been replaced by more spices, assumingly from the French Oak cask. It appears that the addition of water say made the finish of this whisky slightly intolerable, to be frankly honest. There is more hotness than there is flavor. 

Final Comments: This is not the most positive review. Let’s be clear though, KCM doesn’t have a grudge against salty whiskies. Old Pulteney is one of my favorite distilleries, personally. The problem here is that the flavors are not terribly complementary, and the employment of fresh casks seems to be adding a harshness to the whisky that just isn’t doing it any favors. This isn’t a terribly whisky either, though. The spirit itself tastes good, and there doesn’t appear to be any burn associated with impure alcohol. The flavor of baking soda, however, just isn’t adding to the blend. Disappointing, we’d like to see a better lower end offering out of Compass Box, but we’ll just have to keep looking.

 

Why you’d buy it: You want to feel sea-worthy.

Why you wouldn’t: Old Pulteney 12 Year is perfection in comparison for a similar price.

Score: 6.75/10

Review 152: Compass Box Flaming Heart

Review 152

3/31/13

Compass Box Flaming Heart 4^th Edition: 48.9% abv

Background: Well, to our utter dismay, Compass Box doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet, so we need to go off of other sources for our “exclusive knowledge”, but let’s start with this. Compass Box is NOT a distillery; in fact, far from it. Compass box is a Scotch whisky blender. All of CB’s whiskies are blended whiskies, most of which are blended malts, but some of which are uniquely blended grain whiskies (you will seldom find a Single Grain Scotch Whisky in these parts). If you’re interested in a blended grain whisky, look up Compass Box’s Hedonism. Compass Box hasn’t been around for too long, with John Glaser having started up the business in 2000. In fact, it was not too long ago that we saw first signs of Compass Box crop up in Michigan, and boy were we excited. What’s not to like about what CB is doing? They’re bottling at higher proofs with more natural “non chill-filtered” presentation and natural color. This particular limited edition bottling takes the craft aspect to an almost Bruichladdich level. It is a whisky made up of single malts from Islay and the Highlands, so a mixture of smokey richness and sweet-bodied fruits should be expected. This one is aged in new French oak casks, which are frankly not used enough in Scotch maturation. This particular Flaming Heart was bottled in August of 2012 and only 9,147 bottles were produced. As I mentioned before this is a natural presentation and is bottled at 48.9%, which is over-proofed.

Straight

Nose: Well, as you would expect from a malt blend containing peated Scotch, there is some peat on the nose, but don’t mistake this as having the same presence as a Laphroaig. Instead, the peat couples nicely with notes of subtle smoky campfire, nuttiness, agave and sea salt. The fresh French oak brings out the vanilla oak notes, while dry fruits and a subtle malt note underpins the whole ensemble.  

Arrival: The arrival will be an exciting moment for you, and surely you’ll be rewarded by the wait. The nuttiness in the nose prevails in the arrival with some almond hinting through, but truly the peat takes the attention. This isn’t a tobacco-like, dry peat taste like Kilchoman gives you. It is indeed smoky and spicy, with a hot, cayenne-like presentation up front and a mild counterbalance of sweetness.

Body: The body contains notes of peat, creamy vanilla, and some tropical, but mellow fruit types. It took us a while to pin down exactly what we were experiencing, but other sources have sited guava as a potential note.

           

Finish: There is a gentle peat note, vanilla, sweet apple, and sea salt coming through. The whole experience isn’t brutalized by the proof of the alcohol, but it is worth seeing how much change there is with some water.  

With Water

Nose: With water, the nose brings out some more harsh intensity in the smoke and alcohol, with the vanilla coming through and an added sweetness akin to rock candy.

Arrival: The arrival reflects the aforementioned sweetness, being significantly sweeter than before, but also brings out some drier notes and a big vanilla presence. 

Body: The body is again sweet, with a balance of sweet and smoky notes like before.

           

Finish: The peat in the finish, after a few teaspoons of water, is subtler, while fruit and spice notes climb through. There is red grape, spices, more oak, prominent agave, and some subtle grain notes which start to get added.

Final Comments: This is definitely an enjoyable and challenging whisky, and to be honest, we might not have done it justice in this review, but for us, this is a learning experience. This malt blend represents a highly crafted spirit with a nice contrast of peat smoke and sweetness/spiciness. The peat isn’t too commanding, but it still has that quality of a good Islay Scotch. I don’t know if this competes on a full scale with the likes of Caol Ila, but it is not trying to be a Caol Ila either. We hope to see more distilleries bottling at higher proofs like this, and we hope to review more Compass Box in the future.

Why you’d buy it: It is a great blended malt Scotch and you like that it is limited edition

Why you wouldn’t: You can’t get it in your area.

Score: 9.25/10