Stands Out

Compass Box Myths & Legends III

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Compass Box Myths & Legends III
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$150
Website
Compass Box Myths and Legends III

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.

For Myths & Legends III we have taken some of the same parcels of malt whisky used in Myths & Legends II and added peated malt whiskies from a pair of celebrated island distilleries.

Some would object to our actions on principle. Famous single malts are always too precious for blending, they say; the sanctity of the category seems to take precedence over quality.

However, thanks to our parcels of well-regarded malt whiskies, the tropical fruit and butterscotch notes of Myths & Legends II are now further enriched by a deep and enchantingly aromatic smoke profile.

Never blend the famous names? The breadth of generous and complex flavours found in Myths & Legends III dismantles such superstitious thinking.

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Papaya, mango and butterscotch meld with aromatic and assertive peatiness.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS: Enjoy neat, late at night, and in the heaviest glass you can find.

Not Chill-Filtered, Light 5 Micron Filtration | Natural Colour | Lead Whiskymakers: Jill Boyd and James Saxon | A limited edition of 4,564 bottles | July 2019

What Gary Says

Nose:  Freshly shoveled earth and peat, caramel, faint fruit notes.
Palate:  Thick and creamy mouthfeel, rich fruit with butterscotch, peat and smoke.
Finish:  Long, drying with peat and fruit.
Comments:  I do love peat, so if someone said “What if we take some Myths & Legends II and add some peat and smoke?”, I would not have batted an eye, nor discouraged it.  For this, they took the components for Myths & Legends II and added some 23 yr old Highland Park, as well as some 15 yr Caol Ila to the Glen Elgin party (with the additions amounting to just 15%).  I like both of those distilleries, so would further have been on board. I think this is a fine example of where “less is more”.  Wish I had tried this one first so I wouldn’t have Myths & Legends II to compare against, as I think I likely would find this a perfectly delicious pour.  The nose is a lot more peaty than the palate, and some water brings out more notes of kiwi and mango on the nose. But if someone offered me my choice from the series, I’d go with II without much of a thought.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Compass Box Myths & Legends I

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Compass Box Myths & Legends I
Single Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$150
Website
Compass Box Myths and Legends I

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!

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43% ABV
$53-$60
Website
Macallan Double Cask 12 Yr Old

What the Distillery Says

The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old forms part of our Double Cask range which marries the classic Macallan style and the unmistakable sweetness of American oak. This is a fully rounded single malt in perfect balance, with flavors of honey, citrus and ginger.

The perfect partnership of Oloroso sherry seasoned American and European oak casks creates the distinctive, warm character of this harmonious single malt. Our skilled whisky making team optimize the right mix of European and American sherry seasoned oak casks to allow the delicate and indulgent flavors of American oak to take centre stage while the more traditional Macallan characteristics of rich fruits, sherry and wood spice provide a reassuringly familiar backdrop.

THE EXPERIENCE
COLOUR: Harvest sun.
NOSE: Creamy butterscotch with a hint of toffee apple, candied orange, vanilla custard and newly felled oak.
PALATE: Deliciously honeyed, wood spices and citrus, balanced with raisins and caramel.
FINISH: Oak lingers, warm, sweet and drying.

What Gary Says

Nose: Lovely sherry with raisins, dates, plums, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, bit of orange, oak, toffee, hazelnuts, a hint of leather.
Palate:  Sweet honey with raisins, oranges, nutmeg, vanilla sponge cake with caramel cremes.
Finish:  Moderate in length, damp with orange honey, figs and a bit of pepper.
Comments:  Very nice dram – less sherry intensive than Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak, with more honey and a touch of vanilla. The nose on this has a load of complexity, more so than the palate – which is nice enough. The first time I tried this, I thought it stood out, but each time I’ve sampled it I have liked it more.  If you’re a fan of the standard Macallan 12, I think you definitely should give this a try – roughly the same bank and an interesting offering.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Barrell Bourbon Batch 027

/ / Bourbon, Review / ,

Barrell Bourbon Batch 027

57.85% ABV
$90
Website
Barrell Bourbon Batch 027
We would like to thank Barrell Craft Spirits and Ro-Bro Marketing & PR for sending us a sample to review.

What the Blender Says

Barrell Bourbon Batch 027 started with 6-year-old fruit forward barrels from Tennessee and 5-year-old spice forward barrels from Indiana. After these were blended together, 13 and 15-year-old barrels with more wood tannin and depth were layered in and a select number of 9-year-old barrels with a higher rye content were blended in for spice and assertiveness. Finally, 5 and 8-year-old wheated bourbon barrels were added to soften the batch, brighten the front palate, and solidify a cohesiveness to an otherwise extremely complex flavor profile.

  • A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
  • Distilled and aged in Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana
  • Selection of 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, and 15-year-old barrels
  • Aged in American white oak barrels
  • Bottled in Kentucky
  • 115.7 proof cask strength bottling
  • Mash bill: corn, rye and malted barley

FLAVOR NOTES
Many bourbons just taste like caramel, some older bourbons taste like oak, but this — this bourbon is a cherry bomb. At times bright and juicy, at others, brooding and oxidized, but while there are many flavors to be found, cherry stands above them all.

​Neat
Appearance: Carrot.
Nose: Supporting notes that span sweet desserts, woodsy herbs, and rich oils, but their presence is an afterthought to the singular and intense focus of this whisky’s nose, and that focus is squarely on old, comforting cherry. The oak is sweet and nutty, displaying amaretto and sweet, raisonated grapes. Deeper bass notes of sweet potato pie, walnut shells, and freshly ground coffee flesh out the aromatic register. The influence of rye is subtle here, potpourri, earl grey tea, and bouquet garni whisper at the periphery.
Palate: The candied texture that falls short of syrupy and a just-gentle tannin suggest minimal oak extraction but significant concentration over long years spent slowly evaporating in a rickhouse. Like the nose, a bright, juicy acidity puts the focus squarely on a note of cherry so monumental that almost nothing else breaks through. A bit more floral than the nose, candied violet and lavender are just able to peek through, along with a steely minerality. Eventually, some oxidized notes evoke an old oloroso sherry, among them hazelnut, molé sauce, and stewed mushroom.
Finish: A gentle, yet complex finish that makes one imagine a flavor wheel in thin air. This mysterious yet fruity bourbon leaves the palate with blood orange, rosehip, hibiscus, and sumac.

With a few drops of spring water
Lychee, pineapple and honeydew melon emerge, and heather, sage, and cigar smoke lend a welcome complexity. This is followed by baklava, Boston cream pie, and a creamy brown ale, which lends a subtle hoppy note to the finish.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Caramel, cherries, roasted walnuts, musty oak, herbal notes of fennel and dried mint with a hint of lavender.
Palate:  Sweet and thick with cherries and honey, vanilla, pepper spice, oak, raisins, cinnamon, and chocolate fudge.
Finish:  Moderately long with caramel and sour cherries.
Comments: Another really well done blend.  Cherries are definitely a prominent note, but to be clear this isn’t one dimensional in any way/shape/form. There is a sherry-like sweetness that I really like, which seems to intensify with a bit of water.  Continue to be impressed with the blending by the folks at Barrell Craft Spirits, and like that they’re not looking for “consistency” across batches.  I liked this almost as much as Batch 026, but if I had to pick a favorite, that one won by a bit – but I can’t see anyone being disappointed in either.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Barrell Bourbon Batch 018

/ / Bourbon, Review /

Barrell Bourbon Batch 018

55.78% ABV
$90
Website
Barrell Bourbon Batch 018

What the Blender Says

Barrell Bourbon Batch 018 is a cinnamon bomb of a bourbon. We began with a juicy and tropical 11-year-old blend and layered in more structured and spice-driven 14 and 15-year-old barrels to give this batch a serious amount of character and bite.

  • A blend of straight Bourbon Whiskeys
  • Distilled and aged in Tennessee and Kentucky
  • Selection of 11, 14 and 15-year-old barrels
  • Aged in American white oak barrels
  • Crafted and bottled in Kentucky
  • 111.56 proof cask strength bottling
  • Mash bill: corn, rye and malted barley

FLAVOR NOTES
A blend of straight bourbons with all the comfort of your favorite Old Fashioned — sweet and rich with notes of honey, orange and cherry. Coffee and tropical fruit on the palate lead into an earthy finish that invites thoughtful contemplation as the whiskey continues to evolve.

Neat
Appearance: Wildflower honey with brassy highlights.
Nose: Opens rich and fruity, on orange liqueur and maraschino syrup, with underpinnings of cardamom, juniper, and incense. With air, a note of sweet vermouth arrives then evolves into concord grape jam and mint shisha. Slowly, exotic notes of papaya, finger lime, and gooseberry lift above the milieu.
Palate: The flavor of wildflower honey joins the orange liqueur and sweet vermouth from the nose but these sweet flavors are balanced by tangy pomegranate and strawberry. Subtle notes of dark chocolate and kahlua lend it depth.
Finish: Unexpectedly earthy, with cardamom re-appearing alongside almond, cappuccino, and sumac.

With a few drops of spring water
The fruit grows brighter, introducing notes of tangerine zest, mango, passionfruit and coconut, while mineral notes of limestone and tonic water add even more lift.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Caramel, blood orange, vanilla glazed donut, sandalwood, pecans, cherries, oak, bit of dried mint and vitamins.
Palate:  Fruity with cherries, orange, grilled peaches, honey, bit of chocolate, caramel, mineral note with a hint of sweet vermouth.
Finish:  Moderately long and drying with pepper spice, oak and an earthy mineral note.
Comments: A pretty solid blend. The presence of Dickel is a bit more prominent in this one compared to some others, so if you don’t care for that vitamin/minerality often found there, this might not be your favorite blend.  With some water the mouthfeel thickens nicely, and I got more floral notes on the nose as well.  I reviewed this side-by-side with two more recent batches (026 and 027), and this was my least favorite, and was still pretty good.

Rating: Stands Out

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