Review

Compass Box Juveniles

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Juveniles

46% ABV
$120-140
Website

What the Blender Says

For over 30 years, Juveniles Bistrot à Vins in the 1st Arrondissement of Paris has been a crossroads for winemakers, spirits producers, writers and various sorts of affable hedonists from all over the world. Tim Johnston opened the restaurant in 1987. And in 2014, his daughter Margaux and her husband Romain joined him.

Compass Box and Juveniles share a similar approach to great food and drink, seeking out integrity and not taking things too seriously. Both our businesses are obsessed with quality and provenance. Both like to do things in their own way.

These common traits have made Compass Box and Juveniles good friends since the very first meeting between Tim and myself years ago. We have collaborated with Tim on Juveniles whiskies several times.

For this limited edition, Tim asked us to create something “…bright, smooth, not smoky…an assemblage perhaps between 12 and 15 years old…”. We’ve tried to give him all that and much more. This assemblage (we love Tim’s use of this wine word to describe whisky blending) is comprised of single malt whiskies from four distilleries, each bringing a distinctiveness to the whole.

However you choose to enjoy it, Tim and I say… Slàinte!
JOHN GLASER — Founder & Whiskymaker

FLAVOUR DESCRIPTORS
You’ll find notes of barley sugar, pear drop and vanilla, complemented by an ethereal underlying herbal character.

AVAILABILITY
Release of 14,894 bottles worldwide. Bottled September 2018.

RECOMMENDATIONS
This is a whisky that would be a delight served with ice or slightly chilled before a meal, with a cheese course, or on its own after dinner.

BOTTLING DETAILS
Bottled at 46%. Not chill-filtered. Natural colour.

LEAD BLENDER
John Glaser

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, floral honey over perfumed malt, hay, almond essence and over-ripe pears.
Palate:  Sweet creamy mouthfeel with vanilla and honey; sharpens with a hint of ginger and tart peaches over pepper spice.
Finish:  Long and delicately drifting with a subtle spice note trailing.
Comments:  Another really great whisky by the fine folks at Compass Box. Lovely, sweet, rich yet delicate, and dangerously drinkable.

Rating: Must Try

NOTE:  Their web-site has downloads with the breakdown (image below), as well as a link to request more information.  Per their request, I won’t publish the additional details here, but they are happy to provide them if you inquire.  We here at Whisk(e)y Apostle are BIG fans of their transparency (oh – and their whisky is pretty great too 🙂 )

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Rock Oyster

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Rock Oyster Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

46.8% ABV
$50
Website

What the Producer Says

Prise open a rock oyster and you’d be lucky indeed to find a pearl. The real treasure though is the hidden, tasty delicacy inside, rich with the flavours of the sea. Bottled at 46.8% alcohol strength and traditionally without colouring or chill-filtration, this Small Batch bottling has a truly maritime and oceanic character of sea-salt, sweet peat, smoke, honey and pepper. Containing the finest Malt Whiskies from Scotland’s Whisky islands, including those distilled on Islay, Arran, Orkney and Jura, it’s no wonder our Master Blender Fred Laing says “If I could select just one dram to transport the Whisky enthusiast to the Islands of Scotland, it would be this Rock Oyster.”

TASTING NOTES
NOSE: Anticipate wave soaked rocks and a salty oceanic, fresh influence. A hint of peat smoke, and an enticing sweetness.

PALATE: An initially subtle palate that carries soft and rather sweet peat paralleled with smoke, honey, damp ash and develops with liquorice and late pepper.

FINISH: The maritime is neatly replicated on the long, moreish finish.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Strolling along a Scottish coast; soft sea mist with iodine, subtle peat, damp hay over a hint of dried fruit.
Palate:  Soft and smooth entry with honey and barley sugar that builds in intensity; sweetness evolves to a citric, sour candy note as peat and pepper spice join in.
Finish:  Moderately long with lingering peat and freshly cracked pepper.
Comments:  I really dig the nose on this whisky; while there isn’t anything I dislike in the palate – this is one where I enjoy nosing more than drinking. If you’re a fan of that medicinal, peaty, salty Islay style – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed..

Rating: Stands Out

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The Arran Malt Single Cask Sherry 2014 Spring Release

/ / Island, Review, Scottish Whisky /

The Arran Malt Single Cask Sherry Cask
2014 Spring Release

53.2% ABV
$100 – $120
Website

What the Bottle Says

This was a single-cask bottling that Richard picked up in Tennessee in April 2015, and Gary is now kicking himself for not picking up.
Cask #217
Bottle 183/562
Bottled 2/5/2014
Distilled 2/17/1997

What Gary Says

Nose: Damn this nose is thick! Full of BBQ sauce, molasses, smokey oak, tangy dark fruit with hints of balsamic.
Palate: Promised & delivered – lovely thick, chewy mouthfeel, rich with sherry sweetness, bitter chocolate, and nutty spice.
Finish:  Long, with the dark fruit memory slowly fading while dropping pepper spice along the way.
Comments:  Wow this is a fabulous bottle! I remember when Richard picked it up, and now tasting it REALLY wish I’d have grabbed a bottle. I don’t get BBQ sauce that often, but on three different tastings I noted (and underlined) it here. Unfortunately as a single cask, likely no chance of finding this bottle – but if I stumble upon some bottling of aged Arran in sherry, I’ll definitely give it serious consideration.

Rating: Must Try

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Winchester Straight Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Winchester Straight Bourbon

45% ABV
$25
Website

What the ??? Says

[Other than this is made by Terressentia and is available at Total Wine (presumably exclusively there), nothing. Really. We tried to find more info on their web-site with no success.]

What Gary Says

Nose:  Floral perfume notes, sweet with a hint of baking spices.
Palate:  Vanilla, a hint of caramel and oak with a bit of nutmeg.
Finish:  Short and damp, with a hint of spice.
Comments:  Like the Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon, this was another 50 mL gamble where I had very low expectations. Per the label this is ‘at least 2 years old’, and tastes like you’d expect a 2 year old bourbon to taste like. The floral notes on the nose were different, but otherwise this rose to my low expectations (although for the price, there are so many bottles I’d buy before this, I couldn’t list them all). Usually with craft spirits, I compare them to Evan Williams Black Label – a very simple, straight bourbon. And I’d prefer that over this (even at the lower proof).

Rating: Average

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Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Winchester Extra Smooth Bourbon

45% ABV
$20
Website

What the ??? Says

[Other than this is made by Terressentia and is available at Total Wine (presumably exclusively there), nothing. Really. We tried to find more info on their web-site with no success.]

What Gary Says

Nose:  Candy corn, young, corn syrup.
Palate:  Corn, a touch of honey and vanilla with a hint of oak.
Finish:  Short and forgettable.
Comments:  Full disclosure – I bought a 50 mL bottle of this with very low expectations; mainly because someone whose opinion I respect was rather impressed (although I think that was with the Winchester Straight Bourbon) with it. I don’t know that our tastes line up that closely, which just goes to show you different strokes for different folks. This is aged for 6 months per the label, and it tastes like it was aged for about that long; barely any color and closer to a white dog than a bourbon. Don’t get me wrong – corn whisky is a fine product, but I’d go out and buy a bottle of Mellow Corn if I was in the mood for that (plus, it would be cheaper, is aged 4 yrs, is 50% ABV . . . need I go on?)

Rating: Probably Pass

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