...where distraction is the main attraction.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Compass Box Blended Whisky Blind Triple Taste Off!

A lot of info to get through here, so I'll cut the usual schtick and get right to the candidates (all bottled in 2014):

COMPASS BOX ASYLA
Company: Compass Box
Type: Blended Whisky
Contents: 50% Malt Whisky (Teaninich and Glen Elgin) and 50% Grain Whisky (Cameron Bridge)
Age: ???
Maturation: first fill ex-bourbon casks
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No
Official product fact sheet PDF

GREAT KING STREET ARTIST'S BLEND
Company: Compass Box
Type: Blended Whisky
Contents: 54% Malt Whisky (of which is 52% "Northern Highland (malty/fruity)", 31% "Northern Highland (grassy/perfumy), 17% "Speyside (meaty)") and 46% Grain Whisky ("Lowland")
Age: ???
Maturation: 66% first fill ex-bourbon casks, 26% New French oak "finish", 8% first fill ex-sherry butt
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No
Official product fact sheet PDF

GREAT KING STREET GLASGOW BLEND
Company: Compass Box
Type: Blended Whisky
Contents: 67% Malt Whisky (numerous distilleries, amongst which Laphroaig, Clynelish, and maybe Dailuaine are included) and 33% Grain Whisky (Cameron Bridge)
Age: ???
Maturation: "A combination of first-fill Sherry casks, first-fill and refill ex-Bourbon barrels and a small portion of new French oak finishing."
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No
Official product fact sheet PDF

All three samples were purchased at an OC Scotch Club event.

Awesome picture and great spelling, dude.
Thirty milliliters of each whisky poured its own Glencairn glass were arranged so that I did not know which was which.  So I numbered them 1 and 2 and 3.  First I tasted them neat, then added 1mL of water to each whisky at their halfway points.  Once the tasting was complete, I ranked each, graded them, and guessed which was which.  Two genuine surprises resulted......

THE TASTING

WHISKY 1
Neat:
The nose begins with Band-aids, lemon peel, and salty broth.  It's slightly herbal and has a bite of young rubbery peat.  Smaller notes of oats, sweat, and dog fur appear here and there.  The palate is very grassy with young herbally peat up front.  Ginger and dried oregano in the midground.  Bitter oak and pencil lead in the background.  It finishes mossy and gingery.  Mesquite smoke, vanilla, and an oaky bitterness develop after a few moments.

With water:
More rubbery peat in the nose now.  More vanilla too, followed by hints of dried cherries and dried apricots.  The palate gets mossier, though it loses the lead note.  A slight stone fruitiness mingles well with a good soft bitterness.  Large notes of vanilla and brown sugar.  The bitterness improves in the finish as well, meeting up with vanilla and extinguished cigarettes.

Comments:
By far the best nose of the three, whether neat or hydrated.  Though at the same time, it has the weakest roughest palate and a finish I didn't care for.  It shouts youth and maybe even some cask issues at times.  It fact it was comparable to the $20 Shieldaig Highland single malt I reviewed last year.  That doesn't bode well for a $40+ whisky.  The good nose can't totally save it.  GRADE: 79

WHISKY 2
Neat:
The nose is very mild, sometimes almost silent.  There are subtle notes of fresh peach, apricot, and cucumber.  Then there's toasted barley, vanilla, caramel, and American oak char.  It's really grassy.  The palate has the big grass note, though here it's dried clippings.  Vanilla, caramel, pepper, and mocha are in the midground.  A whiff of smoke meets a lot of fresh ginger.  It finishes simple and spirity.  Mostly pepper, salt, and ginger.  Maybe a little bit of caramel.

With water:
The nose is still super grassy, but now there are bigger fruit notes.  Bartlett pears and an orange creamsicle.  More grass in the palate.  Some dried herbs.  A hint of cardboard and some green woody bitterness.  The finish is mostly wood spice and bitterness, then grass and paper.

Comments:
This had the weakest nose of the three, though it did improve when the water was added.  Meanwhile the halfway decent palate totally collapsed when watered.  The finish was so-so, but again didn't react well to the water.  Overall it was the most disappointing of the three.  I can see how it makes for an okay unchallenging neat sipper, but with it falling apart when hydrated I wouldn't have much confidence when it's hit with ice or club soda.  GRADE: 77

WHISKY 3
Neat:
The nose has some sharp mineral notes which for some reason remind me of young Clynelish.  Small pine needle and bubblegum notes meet larger notes of roses, orange, and pear.  After 15-20 minutes in the glass, it fades into caramel and toasted almonds.  The fizzy palate is loaded with toffee.  There's some vanilla, whipped cream, and definitely some malt.  A hint of cardboard.  This has the best mouthfeel of the three whiskies.  It finishes fizzy like a ginger beer.  Then wood spice and vanilla.

With water:
The caramel and toasted almonds remain in the nose.  It's more sugary now and picks up some cardamom.  The palate simplifies into vanilla, sugar, caramel candy, and ginger powder.  Rock candy, vanilla, and black pepper in the finish.

Comments:
The nose ultimately ranked between the other two, but I probably would have it in first had it not nearly vanished after airing out.  This had the best palate, and really the great mouthfeel alone put it ahead of the others.  But then the finish was just so-so, again.  Water narrows it down rather than opening it up.  GRADE: 81

RANKS AND GUESSES:
NOSE (best to worst) - 1, 3, 2
PALATE - 3, 2, 1
FINISH - 2, 3, 1 (but I didn't really like any of them)

#1 - Great King Street Glasgow Blend (79)
#2 - Asyla (77)
#3 - Great King Street Artist's Blend (81)




REVEAL!!!
#1 - Great King Street Glasgow Blend
#2 - Asyla
#3 - Great King Street Artist's Blend

So, there's the first surprise.  I guessed them all correctly.  But that wasn't due to expertise.  I knew the Glasgow Blend would be the peatiest, thus #1 was a dead giveaway.  Then I just had to guess between #2 and #3.  I've had the Artist's Blend a few times, and #3's palate seemed familiar so I placed it there.  It was a 50/50 shot and I got lucky.

Second surprise?  I was underwhelmed by all of three whiskies.  I've been a big Compass Box fan ever since I first tried their stuff three years ago so I take no pleasure in writing any of this.  But I found these three whiskies to be, frankly, boring.  They all feel quite young and the charms of Asyla totally escape me.  If you're looking for whisky to sip and forget, I suppose these are all fine, but most major 12 year old blends will serve those needs better at a lower price.

This was a disappointing Taste Off.  Let's see if the next one goes better.

COMPASS BOX ASYLA
Availability - Most specialty liquor retailers
Pricing - $40 to $60
Rating - 77

GREAT KING STREET ARTIST'S BLEND
Availability - Most specialty liquor retailers
Pricing - $35 to $55
Rating - 81

GREAT KING STREET GLASGOW BLEND
Availability - Scarcer than the Artist's Blend, but still sold at many specialty liquor stores
Pricing - $35 to $55
Rating - 79