Compass Box Myths & Legends I
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
46% ABV
$150
Website
What the Blender Says
Scotch whisky has a rich array of stories, myths and legends.
However, what start as myths can become received wisdom, influencing our understanding and restricting our enjoyment. We have deployed blending to challenge assumptions, biases and prejudices concerning Scotch in this limited edition series we call Myths & Legends.
It may surprise some, but blending is as crucial to the creation of single malts as it is to blended whisky. Myths & Legends I highlights the extent to which individual casks are often unreliable authorities for the style of whisky made at a distillery; it is by blending casks together that a fuller picture of distillery character can emerge.
Two parcels of malt whisky from the same Northern Highland distillery tasted markedly different: the younger parcel was malty and citrusy, the older one much creamier with a ripe fruit character. Two distinct personalities but from the one distillery.
By combining these two parcels we have created a whisky full of fragrance with a more rounded complexity, one that provides a richer understanding of what this distillery can produce.
FLAVOUR PROFILE: A malty and creamy character develops into notes of ripe orchard fruits and delicate oak.
SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS: This whisky is delicious neat, as an aperitif. Adding a splash of water will reveal more of its bright and delicate character.
Not Chill-Filtered, Light 5 Micron Filtration | Natural Colour | Lead Whiskymakers: Jill Boyd and James Saxon | A limited edition of 4,394 bottles | July 2019
What Gary Says
Nose: Fruit notes of pears, peaches, fresh apples, floral notes of honeysuckle with a hint of lavender.
Palate: Creamy mouthfeel with pears, nutmeg, malt, peaches in cream, kiwi.
Finish: Long and gentle with dried fruit and nutmeg.
Comments: A delightful dram – fruity, nuanced, gentle. I’m not sure if I’d had anything from Balblair distillery before (from where this came, with one parcel aged for 15-16 years in recharred American oak and the second aged for 22 years in first fill bourbon barrels). But this would certainly leave me willing to try it blind. The first of three in the Myths & Legends series is starting off strong!