Compass Box The Peat Monster (Classic Brown Label)

Compass Box has a reputation for making truly interesting options and Peat Monster doesn’t deviate or disappoint when it comes to a fun experience. FIRST IMPRESSIONS - Upon cracking it open, there’s no doubt Peat Monster will get you excited. It definitely holds a bright and vibrant peat essence and the color is elegant and alluring. NOSE - The nose on this one is particularly exciting, offering a wide array of citrus notes, melon, fresh cut straw, chestnut, fudge, butterscotch, and a beautiful and buttery finish. This one holds a savory peat, almost hickory smoke-like, finishing things out with an herbal fragrance (think green fields). PALATE - The palate is a lightweight fighter, swift when it needs to be, but heavy-hitting in some key, unexpected areas. I found a very pleasant vanilla fudge accompanied by sea salt, creamy oatmeal, and almond. Peat Monster hits dry and smooth, leaving a light residual heat, harkening back to that “heavy-hitting” comment. After a drop, I also experienced a very light creme brûlée and what seemed like pancakes. That was a nice and subtle addition. WASH - Peat Monster offers a proper linger, which surprised me due to the low ABV. You’ll find a pleasant heat here, which is a nice finish to this dram. WHAT I APPRECIATED - This is incredibly smooth, offering a treat of a nose and a genuinely elevated dram. This is one I’d share with mates and many who perhaps avoid peat might truly enjoy. CONCLUSION - To be fully transparent, the name seems to do it a disservice. Peat Monster is well balanced and extremely shareable. That’s not really what I was hoping for. While it does offer a wonderful peat profile, it doesn’t offer the expected depth of other “over the top” heavily peated scotches. It seems to only be turned up to 7 or 8 when others are at 11. Considering it’s called “Monster,” I have to say I expected more “growl” and low end. If your looking for a deeper, earthed peat experience, you may want to look elsewhere. If however, you prefer your peat in a three-piece suit and cleaned up, you’ve arrived. Cheers!

It’s 2020. It’s December. Let’s shut this year down with a brand new whiskey (or whisky) every day. It’s my own personal whiskey advent calendar. +6! Dec. 21, 2020 Compass Box round 3. Once every 397 years, when Saturn, Jupiter, and Milliardo’s 200th tasting are in perfect alignment, the monster is released. I am not afraid. I recently tried Octomore. That forever changes a person. Very light in color. I may never get used to that in scotch. Nose is corned beef. I can’t tell if I can smell thousand island or if that’s the reuben talking. Bit of vinegar, bit of steak sauce. This smells delicious, meaty, and yet still distinct from the other peaty scotches I’ve had to date. That vinegar kicks in on the body. It’s acidic, but there’s a sweetness on it too. It’s barbecue sauce. I actually really like it. Finish could be burnt meat, but I think it’s smarter to call it a mild cigar. It’s mild spice, mostly smoke. This is my least favorite of the Compass Box trilogy, but it’s still decent. Peat crosses the line for me when you feel like you’ve just puffed on a cigar. I’m sure that’s a thing many folks like, but it’s not my cup of tea. This one only does it at the very end, and if I could chop that off, I’d really appreciate this scotch like its siblings. ‘Tis the season. I’m day-to-day on my whiskey selection, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments. Merry whiskey to all, and to all a beer flight!

Nose - sweet peat smoke, ham, bacon grease, mushroom like fungal notes, iodine, seaweed, brine, lemon, melon, honey, subtle vanilla, toffee, leather, old wood, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - sweet and savory peat, bacon grease, ham, butterscotch, toffee, vanilla, lemon, ginger, wasabi, brine, chili pepper, seaweed, honey, iodine, subtle rubber, leather, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long and pleasantly smoky with savory meat, zingy lemon ginger, and semi-sweet toffee flavors. I really like it (mostly because I’m a peat head), but I’m not sure it’s better than the sum of its parts. It provides the peated malt experience (more meaty Caol Ila than medicinal Laphroaig), but adds a nice sharp ginger and lemon zing that for a moment, against your better judgment, convinces you that this is somehow refreshing, in a ‘highball with a twist’ kind of way. And the butterscotch/toffee sweetness (presumably from the French Oak) cunningly aids in this deception. Certainly, this does not take the place of those classic heavy hitters, but it is a fresh and refreshing spin on the standard Islay experience. Or maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve had a good peated dram, and I’m a bit too eager to reconvene.

Compass Box – Peat Monster 46%, Non Chill Filtered, Natural Color Compass Box is a favorite around here. They have begun price gouging over the past couple of years but fortunately their core range is still very affordable. This bottle of Peat Monster is both in their core range and pre price gouging era. Currently the Peat Monster blended malt  is pretty much a blend of 2 malts (65% Caol Ila and 35% Laphroaig).  You can get the exact details on their site. Unfortunately I am not sure the exact age of this bottle or if the blend was different back then.  I am thinking it’s from the 2013-2015 era but I am only making a half educated guess based on the style of the label. Regardless of the age of the bottle and its contents, this is a pretty tasty whisky.   The smell is very pleasant.  Light fresh peat, gentle smoke and fresh orchard fruit (apples and pears) Taste - first you get hit with sweet and spicy smoke, vanilla. The fruits that were there in the smell begin to show up in the finish just before it fades to bonfire ash. Overall I really enjoy this blended malt. It was priced fairly at the time but now prices for everything are out of whack especially the Compass Box prices.   Overall Grade:  B

A pale gold color, with long and spindly legs. The nose is a smoky peat right off the bat; tobacco smoke and the ash it leaves behind. The smoke is easy and pleasant like a campfire from a distance. The second wave is spicy cinnamon and a prickly clove; earthy brown leaves. A hint of bar soap? That flavor is unadulterated, briny sea salt, followed by charred wood ash. The peat is hitting right in the sweet spot. Reminds me of a fine cigar. As you let it sit a bit, there is baby oil and a resinous woodiness. The following flavor is mint/menthol. There is a good deal of barley there, but you have to chew on it a bit to get there. Bitter or semi-sweet chocolate. The finish is tobacco ash, like dried out charcoal the morning after a barbecue. And that smoke lingers for a long time. Black pepper. The tannins and metallics bring up the rear. When I first had this, I thought it was a little flat and lifeless, so I'm glad I spent some more time with it to appreciate its complexities.

3rd and final sample of Compass Box blends. On the nose a familiar iodine cold ash peat embedded in a melange of crispy white bread, sweet tangerines, bitter oranges / grapefruit, light apples, a salty note, a bid of lemon and vanilla. Not overly sweet and surprisingly fresh. Checking the information sheet from CB the used distilleries are not a surprise: Caol Ila and Laphroaig mainly - all Bourbon cask matured only. The palate is a bid weird in an interesting way at first but then settles nicely with wooden smoke, vanilla sweetness, a welcome smoothness and a really amazing Islay peat. The finish is rewarding really. Sweet and peaty almost creamy and quite long with a bid of oak in the end. For sure the best out of the three CBs I had (Spaniard and Spice Tree being the others). It is a nice Islay whisky expression not over-fabricated. When you are a fan of typical Islay peat this bottle is a nice addition to your collection for sure. I like it.