Compass Box Orchard House

Orchard House snuck into Compass Box's core lineup while the world was trapped indoors trying to avoid the rona. After tasting the Godsend that is Flaming Heart, I've become much more interested in Compass Box as a whole. Of course, I had to buy a bottle of Orchard House to give it a go. Such a fruity nose! Apples and pears sitting amongst some sweet, floral beeswax. The taste is surprisingly not overwhelmed with fruit. Mildly spicy and sweet anise takes center stage as the taste opens up. Midway through you get some hints of almond cookie. The finish is a little shorter on this one but continues with the sweet spicy anise. It trails off with a whisper of peat right at the very tail end. What a good, solid sipper this one is. And for the price, it could easily become a daily. I really cannot think of many $50 and under bottles that can swing at this level.

A very pale straw yellow. Not a lot of body but leaves a few thin legs. OK. Like it or not, dem boys delivered the concept. Crisp apple balanced by a subtle cereal note. Creamy. Gentle honeysuckle. I find myself tempted to think of grain whisky, but nothing harsh in the nose whatsoever - it's just "simple". Orange blossom water. Pear. Almond. Honeydew. A lilting saccharine spice that builds and recedes gently. Beeswax. Vanilla. Gosh that’s easy to like. Conversely, it may also be tough to love. This is not a brooding, complex, or challenging dram. It’s just light, fruity, and approachable. At sub-$50 I think it competes with any of the typical entry-level age-stated highland/Speyside malts and is clearly the superior to a number of them. If it were less than $40 it'd be a home run.

This hay-colored blend from Compass Box is an excellent choice for cocktails and while not as good as Compass Box Aslya neat, still an overall solid dram. The nose is pretty faint, with just a hint of apple and pear. The palate opens up though with notes of citrus, mainly lemon, peat and stone fruits. The finish is short but has little to no burn and some vanilla notes to close. Compass Box is positioning this blend to be the cocktail ingredient you reach for when a recipe calls for scotch. It may not have the peat notes of Johnnie Walker black, but it works better than most blends in nearly all cocktails. I'm not sure people will turn to it over the mainstays like Dewars, JW and Famous Grouse, but I believe it's just as good, if not better than those.

Twin liquor sale spurred me to finally grab this. Nose is fruity and floral with some malt and cardboard. Palate is bright and crisp with plenty more orchard fruit as advertised. Barley sugar, honeysuckle and malt accompany some young tongue depressor oak. Finish is fading malty fruit with a flash of smokeless peat and drying barrel. This is pleasant and tasty but lacks real depth and heavy flavor punch. I think it does deliver on the agenda of an easy drinking fruity/floral blend with a decent malt presence. This is made for those new to scotch imo but has enough to keep experienced fans engaged. I would not repurchase at regular pricing of $50-55 but certainly rotation worthy at price I paid.....85/100

Replacing the 2021 discontinued Oak Cross, Orchard House is the latest addition to the Compass Box core range. Ripe fruits are the main theme, and the nose delivers what the label promised: apples, pears and vanilla, mixed with peaches, biscuits and honey. More of the same on the palate, before it turns spicy and slightly dry in the development, enriched by unripe banana, pineapple and ginger. Lemon zest, grapefruit and herbal notes subside in the medium finish, and I can even hear the Caol Ila whispering. A rock-solid sipper for long summer evenings. RATING: 3.7/5.0 stars ≙ 85 pts → ABOVE AVERAGE [+]

I picked up a bottle at a whiskey tasting in western Canada because I loved its delivery of a mouthful of fresh green apple right at the front end. Unlike so many (overpriced) malty Scotches, this blend comes on clean and clear, rather like a nicely polished Calvados. The texture is light, in keeping with the bright blonde hue of the liquor, but the longevity is decent for the price point. Above all, for me, it’s a delightfully distinctive dram, comparable only to a German whiskey I have that’s matured in apple brandy casks. Overall, far better than most import Scotches for less than a hundred bucks.