Compass Box Juveniles

As I was pouring a dram of Juveniles, I kept hearing an odd dinging noise. At first I thought someone was walking their dog outside but then realized it was coming from the bottom of the bottle. In the bottle is a built in recess with a little jingle bell in there. How fun! Now on to the whisky: Immediately I am getting bright notes on the nose. Honey, green apples and pears dominate, bringing sweet and tart to the party. The tail of the finish turns drier, with a bit of tannic oak and grass. On the taste, the wine cask is immediately noticeable but not in the form of tart red fruits. No, this is a bright and acidic mix of green apples and pears. If you swirl the whisky in your mouth, you will make out sweet vanilla and honey on the inside of your lips. The tail end of the taste brings in some tannic charred oak. The finish pushes the whisky fully into the "dry" category, again bringing tannic charred oak with black pepper and tongue tingling baking spices. Remember those apples and pears from the front of the taste? If you wait right until the tail end of the finish, you can catch a glimpse of them as this whisky makes its exit. Although not my favorite, if nothing else; Compass Box is never boring, especially their limited selections. If you can still find a bottle of Juveniles, give it a try!

Compass Box – Juveniles 46%, Non Chill Filtered, Natural Color Compass Box is a favorite around here.  I pretty much love everything I’ve tried from them.  Juveniles is no different.  The bottle is a bit gimmicky – I could do without the bell underneath but I suppose that makes it unique?. The bottle is also sealed with White Wax – something you don’t see much of in the scotch world. This is made up of 4 malts (Strathmill, Balmenach, Clynelish and Glendullan) Smelling this is quite nice, honey and crisp apples. Very light, waxy and fruity. Tasting neat is a blast of vanilla and sweet candies, with orange creamsicle and some light soft fruits.  Much like the smell this is pleasant and delivers what was expected from the smell.  Tasting with water gives more of the tart green apples and less of the vanilla.  The finish is a bit short but the green apple is there the entire time.  Overall, I really like this.  It’s sweet, more of an after dinner dessert drink in my opinion but very nicely done.  Not sure it’s worth the $130 price tag but the whisky itself is nice.  Good thing I didn’t purchase this at that price, it was a gift from the wife….oh wait...I did purchase at this price.  Ouch! Overall Grade:  B

I quite enjoyed this one. Very simple flavoured dram, light and ethereal but carries and delivers the vanilla note well. I'm alternating between a 3.5 and 3.75 on this one. 3.5 because it's simple but 3.75 because it does simple in a very well balanced rounded way. Started at a 3.75 as after the poorly constructed Tomatin 18 which showed complete lack of care, skill or respect for the distillate this does. But then towards the end got slightly boring and i saw what the price was so 3.5 it is. But then after reviewing all drams on the day this was 2nd or 3rd so back to 3.75 it is. Now interestingly value wise this was £100 pounds which was an exorbitant rip off. I appear to be not the only one who thought so as MoM now has it 1/3rd off at £65. Looks like the CB bubble if not whiskey in general is about to deflate if not burst...about time. There are a few expressions which come to mind, about those swimming naked when the tide flows out and the emporer having no clothes which are now going to come into play (ok the moral of those stories doesn't actually apply to overpriced whiskeys trading on their status for a price premium but the figurative implications sound close :-))

Compass Box is famous for making some bespoke expressions for important whisky bars and restaurants of the world. This is the case for "Juveniles", a wonderful looking bottle, that actually has a rattle bell on the bottom. Juveniles is actually a "Bistrot  Vins" from Paris, place that was honoured by this bottle. This is a blended malt made from Clynelish, Balmenach, Glendullan & Strathmill, with a 46% abv. On the nose: Pineapple and meringue. Sawdust, gooseberries, very fresh. Spongy cake. On the palate, it mimics the same notes. Pineapple and beautiful meringue. Sugary notes. Meringue sweets. Acid. Cotton candy. Aftertaste is very sugary. Sugar with milk. Pineapple creamy. Overall, this was a truly enjoyable expression. Soooo easy to drink, very sweet and citric. This one is a dangerous dram, since i feel that i can have a full bottle without much hesitation. My score for it is 92 over 100, which is very surprising for a not too expensive Compass Box.

(The Good Spirits Company, Glasgow - Virtual Whisky Tasting, Friday 14th August 2020) I like the transparency of Compass Box. Although current regulations don’t permit them to put the breakdown of the blend on the bottle, a quick internet search allows you to see what you are drinking. I’d have liked to see the ages, but that’s a minor reservation. Strathmill, refill hogshead: 34% Balmenach, refill hogshead: 34% Clynelish, re-charred hogsheads: 20% Clynelish, refill sherry butt: 10% Glendullan, first fill sherry butt: 2% Nose: Strong bourbon influence. Fruity and vanilla. Palate: A little ‘hot’ on the first taste but quickly calms into the main flavours. Clean and fruity (pears), some light oak. Finish: Short finish. Creamy, malty (Horlicks). Salty and herbal at the very end. This has a lovely mouth feel. It’s a smooth, easy to drink blended malt. This came joint third of the six whiskies tasted with 10% of the vote for favourite.

The rate at which Compass Box releases whiskies tailored to the specifications of a restaurant or retailer has me hopeful that it won’t be too long before individual consumers can order customised blends in the same way that we can design our own sneakers or suits online. Give me a funky nose with a nutty, peaty body and a lightly sherried finish and I think I’ll be set, thank you. That’s not what the Juvenile restaurant behind this release ordered up, but it’s still another enjoyable composition by John Glaser. You get the fresh floral aromas of a spring morning, followed in the mouth by flavors of malt, whipping cream and milky tea. It finishes strong with caramel and a burst of red pepper flakes. It’s another solid Compass Box release, better than some of the more mediocre ones though not memorable enough to make my top 10. Worth trying, though I wouldn’t buy a full bottle at this price.