Compass Box The Peat Monster

At some point, along my whisky journey, I developed an unconscious (or maybe not so unconscious) bias against blended Scotch. I started off with them. Among my first whiskies were Johnnie Walker, Dewar's, Cutty Sark. But over the years, I started to think of them as lesser. Less interesting, lower quality, the clumsy young sibling of single malts. Of course, once in a while, I'd still dip into the well. A blended Scotch would come along to rouse my interest: the Dewar's run finished Scotch, Dewar's 21 Double Double. But these are, admittedly, still rare. Generally, if I'm going to opt for a blend, it has to come highly recommended. I hear Johnnie Walker Green is good, but I somehow always have another preference if I'm going to drop $65, so I haven't gone there yet. Where I have gone, in the past year, are Sheep Dip Islay and Compass Box Peat Monster. What these two have in common are that they both appeared in recent years on the Whisky Advocate Top 20. What Sheep Dip Islay had going for it is that, while the SRP on a 750 mL bottle is also $65, they were selling 200 mL bottles at the FW&GS for $5. If you do the math there, that meant I was able to procure 800 mL for $20. Had it remained in stock and stayed at that price, it would have become a mainstay on my shelf, not necessarily because it was high quality: frankly, it had a Laphroaig nose with a Cutty Sark menthol/citrus palate (the Laphroaig nose I could go for; the Cutty not so much), but it was an amazing dram at $20 for 800 mL. I have to imagine, however, that I'm not the only one who caught on to this. It sold out within relative quickness, but has not returned. Compass Box Peat Monster, however, is something I had higher expectations for. After all, it wears its sources on its sleeve, Laphroaig and Caol Ila, and Laphroaig is my go-to Islay in terms of the land where price meets quality. That said, I've seen two reviews from sippers I follow on this site, where they compared this Compass Box pour to Laphroaig 16 and Ardbeg 10 and found the Compass Box wanting. I'm not really sure comparing it to a Laphroaig 16 is fair, but the Ardbeg 10 is apt. After all, both that and the Peat Monster go for between $50-60 a pop (Laphroaig 10 is around the same price), so the challenge here is really on the Peat Monster. And I ask you Compass Box: why should I spend my money on your blend rather than those single malts? The answer is quite simple: you shouldn't. Now I'll tell you two things having said that: 1. I would never turn this down if offered and 2. I don't regret that I bought a bottle of this. Is it good? Yes. The expert review is apt. The aroma is fruit and smoke, a brininess. It's got a pleasant nose. On the tongue, it reminded me of the Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength I had earlier this year, if you were to water that down significantly. The expert review refers to the fruit on the palate as raspberries, but it reminds me more of the freeze dried strawberries you get in Special K. I like that she mentions ham because I'd have never thought of it, but it's there (or did she plant the idea?) and it's something of a honey-glazed ham. I'm not sure I agree about the finish being medicinal, but being a Laphroaig drinker, that might just be because Laphroaig by itself is so much more medicinal that when present in a blend I find that medicinal quality muted, but there might be a slight touch of the band aid at the end. Overall, it's solid (far, far superior to Sheep Dip) and I could probably sit and sip it all night long, but I'm not sure it's all that distinctive (if it distinguishes itself at all, it's not because of the titular peat but because of the sweetness that's not generally as prevalent in most Islay single malts). Which brings me back to addressing my original point: at some point, in the whisky journey, blended Scotches become less appealing because they don't provide a distinctive enough experience. They are, if done right, so smooth that you can drink them without noticing them. And that's fine as far as that goes. If the bottle were $10 cheaper, I could see me opting for this over certain single malts in the $45-$50 range: Fiddich, Livet, even the Highland Park 12 Year. But at $57, I'm picking up Ardbeg or Laphroaig 10 every time (or well, every time other than the one time I picked up this). As I mentioned, I've seen others compare this to Laphroaig 16 and Ardbeg 10 (which are both going to make the Peat Monster pale in comparison). The other bottle of Islay I have open right now is Ardbeg 5. So how does this hold up? Well, if you're looking for smooth, this is the better whisky. It might even be slightly more complex. It's certainly got the rough edges rounded off, but that's always been what I've liked about the Beastie (which I've mentioned in plenty of reviews here): those rough edges. They're what makes the Beastie unique. Though that said, if this were in the price range of Beastie ($37 when it's on sale), I would pick up Peat Monster fairly frequently. But at $58, I can't bring myself to put this on a regular rotation. Then again, I can't get this around me anyway. It was a special Jersey Shore pickup, and the stores down there have plenty I'm aching to try when I get back down there. So farewell Peat Monster. When the bottles done, we'll be parting ways for greener pastures.

Just as an FYI I had a glass of Ardbeg 10 beside this one to compare to, and to help my nose/palate find some differences. I picked Ardbeg 10 because it is not one of the distilleries used in the blend and a lot of people are familiar with Ardbeg 10 as a standard Islay. Caol Ila and Laphroaig are the two main distilleries in this blend. Colour: Very light. Maybe 1 shade darker than Ardbeg 10 Nose: Lots going on here. Peat smoke is front and centre but also a very nice briny sea salt note. Reminds me of the smell of your hands when trying to crack lobsters. There is also a fruity sour green apple note in there with a bit of petroleum sweetness. If you splash it on your hands and rub them together there is a fantastic note of peanut brittle that comes out! I really enjoy the nose here. Taste: This had a great oily mouth feel to it. Again that petroleum sweetness comes out, but it is not as sweet as an Ardbeg 10. There is also a nice candied ginger note that comes out alongside a bit of the brine. Notes of burnt sugar too. I really like that this has a nice clean smoke flavour to it that is not too meaty. It's delicate like the thin blue smoke you might get while smoking meat, not heavy campfire smoke. Finish: This has a surprisingly long finish! A little bit of sweetness from that burnt sugar lingers and that sour green apple too if you're really looking. Final thoughts: Wow - for the price, this is a great peated scotch! I would feel very comfortable introducing someone to peated scotch with this one. I like that the smoke is not as intense or heavy as Laphroaig, and not as meaty as Ardbeg. It's surprisingly delicate! What would make me give it a higher rating? I really enjoy a more pronounced sea salted note more similar to what's found in Talisker.

The first thing that comes to mind on the nose is roasted seaweed. Slightly smoky, very savory with a bit of sea water brine. Reminds me of a warm summer's eve bonfire. Try as I might, I can't detect anything beyond that on the nose. Perhaps due to my tendencies to avoid the overly peated ( think Lagavulin ) and erring more towards sweet peat ( think Balvenie 14 Year Peat ) I feel like the taste here is dominated by peat smoke. But I will try my best to describe how this tastes. Holding this whisky in your mouth and swirling it about really does wonders for its complexity. Initially, I had my first taste in the short and sweet fashion and I tasted nothing but Peat Smoke. When really examining this whisky however, the underlying quality of the entire taste throughout is a bit of beach bonfire. That brininess on the nose remains but blends with slightly damp, burning fire wood. Dark chocolate mingles with very tart raspberries mid taste to deliver a powerful one two punch of bittersweet. As the sweet departs, the bitterness stays. Its a bit medicinal and I found it slightly unpleasant but luckily it was only for a fleeting moment as the finish draws out with a return of the briny, roasted seaweed over an open bonfire quality. I can appreciate that the name of this selection is "The Peat Monster". So clearly, peat smoke will be the dominant flavor profile. But there are significantly more elegant, complex and delicious ways to get your hint of peat smoke, albeit at a significantly higher SRP than Peat Monster. For Example: Compass Box's limited release - Flaming Heart. Delicious. For this monster though? Maybe slightly better than average.

Aromatic vanilla and coconut notes marry peppermint, incense, and smoked ham on the nose. The palate opens with floral honey sweetness, barley sugar, even hints of grapefruit, leading into ashy pipe tobacco smoke character. The finish brings more bitter cocoa notes to round out the burnt elements from the peat. Definitely a Peat Monster, but absolutely punching well above its weight price-wise. No added colour, non-chill filtered. Much to adore here, complex and bringing ample but balanced smoke and sweetness – please try it if you’re a fan of Islay scotch (Caol Ila and Laphroaig make up most of this whiskey) or just want to get your world rocked! Also, if you’re flying through the domestic terminal of the Calgary airport (YYC), the liquor store near the gates has an amazing whiskey selection at greatly desirable Alberta prices. Got some Christmas gifts (for others too…) while I was passing through over the holidays.

3.0 stars - Good; 750 ml bottle Do you need a quesadilla maker? A quesadilla maker is a heavily specialized piece of kitchen equipment. It is $60 and often sits on a shelf seldom being used. But it does make damn fine quesadillas. This is the quesadilla maker of whiskey. A blend of Caol Ila and Laphroaig, I have to wonder what is the purpose? They both make good entry level malts. It will be near impossible to make something better than the sum of the parts. This is a damn fine whisky: oily, lemon drops, coal smoke, hay, menthol, brine. Caol Ila appears to dominate, which it tends to do in most blends. I will give it to Compass Box. They are never bad and never boring. This whiskey does exactly what it is supposed to to. It provides a well-peated drink that is both accessible and balanced. It is just hard for me to devote the shelf space to yet another specialized appliance.

Caol Ila Workshop Scottish distillery Peated Islay Whiskeys This past Thursday, 7/11, whiskey specialist PJota Tomé led a beautiful workshop at the headquarters of ABS Minas (Brazilian Association of Sommeliers) on Islay peat produced by the Scottish distillery Caol Ila. ABS Minas partner, Ingá mineral water, kept all participants very well hydrated. In a blind tasting, peated examples of 4 different single malts and 1 guest blended malt were tasted. Despite not being produced by Caol Ila, this Single Malt was part of the tasting for comparative analysis purposes. It is a good Single Malt and even though it is peated, it failed to beat the Caol Ila whiskeys and came in last place among those tasted at the event. Congratulations to the participants for their performance in the race and congratulations to PJota for organizing this incredible event