Compass Box Rogues' Banquet

Bought this a couple weeks ago, had a pour so lets get back into it. Background I haven't really researched. I know we're looking at about a 75:25 malt grain mix and the vast majority of the whisky in here is about 25 years old with some 19 or 21 year old mixed in. So plenty of age. A bit of grain to bring down costs but still net net I think a pretty good value on face value. Lets see how it drinks. Nose - ok first off, just coming off my glass, it's delicate yet powerful and really inviting. Citrus, apples, vanilla, spices, and a touch of oak. Really a very delightful and all be it perhaps a bit generic kind of a fruity citrus notes. The spice, fruit and vanilla character with the under lying older oak notes are really playing on each other well here. I even dare say I get distinct clynelish elements which is shocking given how little is in here, but yet I can't miss them. Taste - The taste goes a different direction from the nose. While the nose brings out citrus fruits and it has a balanced and fruity well banquet of notes, the flavor is very different. It plays on some waxy vanilla notes, gives off oak spices, and then you move into the finish where it gets a bit savory and there are umami elements likely oak driven. That lingers on medium to long with toasted oak and waxy vanilla with it. I'm struggling to find the nice citrus notes from the nose however. Mouth feel is another issue here. The 46% drinks like a non chill filtered whisky with a nice coating to the mouth, but it's still dishearteningly thin. Just going into the 48-50 range could have really pushed this one to the next level. I'm at 2.5 with this one. Let me walk you through it a bit. There is the complexity and nuanced transitions of a 20+ year old whisky and in that this should be walking into the 4.0 range. The finish is long and lingering, again should be at least a 3.5 if not 4 as well. The nose has the makings of a sold 3+ as well. The problem then? It's just SO flat up front when you first taste it. Where there should be orchard fruits or something. I plan to go back to this in a day or maybe even today and see if I'm just off or missing it, but it's truly a depressing start to what is otherwise a wonderful whisky. None the less a 2.0 is an average whisky and a 2.5 is a firm step up and is moving into a very good, but not great. I wouldn't dismiss this whisky on my score as there are layers upon layers of depth that for many might be more than enough to push this into their 4+ ranges. I'm picky and I hate to say this one is just missing a mark or two. Short re review - see comments but I'm upping this to 3.0

Insert the song "King for a Day" by Jamiroquai, and lets start reviewing a Compass Box release that describes a very opulent Banquet. A blend of North British, Miltonduff, Clynelish and Glen Elgin, this is Compass Box Rogue's Banquet. It was released at the beggining of the 2020 Covid Pandemic, and it had the intention to relief people who where unable to abandon their homes due to the virus. The label might be the most beautiful one that Compass Box have ever made, and that is quite the statement. Some of the characters that appear on the label, belong to other expressions of compass box, like the hedonism muse that is in the center of the banquet, or the famous Peat Monster who is guarding the whisky barrels in the basement. True art. Bottled at 46%abv, light ambar color. On the nose, beautiful aroma. Apples, hay, stewed apples like baby's Gerber mashed fruits. It has a thick and creamy feeling. Honey, fruitspice. After s couple of minutes the aroma changed in something much more tropical like pineapple that has been left inside the fridge, peaches and prunes. After some sips it gave me vanilla cookies, dinosaurs or animals vanilla cookies for kids. On the palate, old pineapple, tobacco and cardboard. Hay and grass. Aftera first sip, it gave me vanilla, peach halves and pepper spice. The grain whisky can be felt but not in a bad way. Cookie dough and orange juice. Aftertaste mantains the good performance. Salt, hay, recently cut grass. Gunpower and a very long pepper finish. It is like licking the glue of an envelope to seal it. Salty and maritime. New wood. Overall, this is one of my favorite Compass Box ever. It was so elegant, complex and super enjoyable. It feels absolutely well delivered, perfectly balanced and full of tasting and aroma notes. They really made something great with this one. My score for it is 92 over 100.

Review coming soon but wanted to share this as I suspect curious minds would want to know. Recently picked up a bottle CBRB and was curious about the ages of the whiskeys making up this blend. So I wrote CB to get age breakdown info for component parts and here’s what they came back with: 1: Miltondoff (Rechar Bourbon Hogshead - 25Yr, 68.7%) 2: Clynelish (Rechar Bourbon Hogshead - 25Yr; 3.5%) 3: North British (First Fill Bourbon Barrels; 25Yr; 25.6%) 4: Glen Elgin (Recharred Bourbon Barrel; 19Yr; 2.2%) Gotta say kudos & hats-off to Compass Box for the transparency! We (consumers & collectors alike) mos def need more of that in this space. With skyrocketing prices and no justification prevalent with a lot of OBs and IBs, it’s refreshing to see some accountability, [albeit] with climbing prices for recent CB products. C’est la vie...

Compass Box prices seem to have drifted out of my orbit so it’s been a while since I bought any of their new releases, with the exception of a $50 store-exclusive marrying cask. But I’ll eagerly try them given half a chance. Rogues’ Banquet is one of their longer-aged blends and worthy of more contemplation than my small sample allowed, but initial impressions are that it’s a sophisticated distillate-driven dram that doesn’t lean on peat or sherry to deliver its flavors. On the nose, the Clynelish wax stands out despite the small proportions in the blend. Helpings of pineapple cubes candy lend a fruity note. There’s a silky texture in the mouth and a mix of sweet and savory flavors including ginger spice and mangosteen. An interesting dram, albeit not one I’d buy at $200 a bottle.

Nose- Waxy apple, ginger, honey, toasted marshmallows Palate- Ginger spice initially, wave of tropical fruits, honey, creamy vanilla Finish- medium, creamy finish with notes of ginger and soft tropical fruits Hmm. This is good stuff, but doesn’t blow me away. Lovely toasted marshmallows on the nose, along with waxy apples and honey. The palate coats the mouth in ginger spice, followed by muted tropical fruits and honey. Nice creamy mouthfeel, but the palate and finish feel muted. I think this bottle needs some time to open up and it could be great. Will revisit in a couple months.

Sublime! Nose: Chocolate, Caramel, Strawberries, Peaches, Maple Syrup, Bananas, Raisins, Figs, Plums, Flowers, Cotton Candy, Baking Spices, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Coconuts Palate: Brown Sugar, Toffee, Milk Chocolate, Honey, Grapefruit, Caramel, Raisins, Cherries, Peaches, Pears, Raspberries, Smoke Finish: Smoke, Cherries, Caramel, Snickerdoodle Cookies, Dark Chocolate, Strawberry Jam, Oranges, Pineapples, Mangoes