Compass Box Stranger & Stranger

Those crazy chaps over at Compass Box Whisky, out of London, have released another “spirit drink” to buck the Scottish Malt Whisky Society: Stranger & Stranger. This release pays homage to the 10 year anniversary of their use of this marketing company (of the same name) that they use to design their labels and bottle packaging. This blend also contains 1% of one year old grain spirit from Girvan- so it can’t be classified as whisky under the SMWS bylaws. However, just like every other CBW release it’s non-chill filtered and has no added color. It’s bottled at 46% and currently retails just shy of $200. Is it worth that? Let’s find out... The appearance is like that of new, polished gold and it’s oily and produces tiny drops and a few undefined legs in the tasting glass. The nose reminds me of fresh sliced honeydew melon and a waxy, sweet corn. There’s a mango sweetness underlying some baked, grain bread loaf. You can also smell some of the heat from the ABV. The palate is incredibly juicy with vine-ripened fruit, faint chocolate and honey. A wonderful peach purée with some added sugar adds weight to the tongue and overall mouthfeel, but there’s a light oak backbone that holds up heading into the finish. The finish is medium length and mouthwatering- with a lingering waxy, fruity and heavy mouth coat. The mango and peach notes also hung around long after the finish and I could still notice them hours later. Overall, this is a very tasty “spirit”. Glenlossie makes up 80% of the blend here and it makes me want to search for a few independent offerings from those guys just to see if the peach and mango notes carry over into other malts. Glen Elgin (14%) and Linkwood (5%) make up the remaining whisky used. There was only a total of 4,802 bottles filled and even though the price point is rather high this is a quality product. The packaging is cool, too. Seek out a bottle or a pour and decide for yourself. I’m glad I bought a second bottle as they seem to be getting a little harder to find now. 4.25-4.5 stars. Cheers.

Continuing to go through my current bottles - about 120 or so left to go. This will be fun! Going in, I've had this opened since release but I've not had too many pours of it. My first impressions were pretty poor so lets see if it's gotten better or I've changed. Nose - peach and mango with an oily waxy back. Some earthy tones as well on the finish. There's a nice vanilla and spice note at the end as well. Much more sweet and vanilla than citrus or spicey. Taste - Up front the fruits and vanillas stay in the very dessert pastry level. The finish overwhelms with an explosion of alcohol, spice, and a swirling of cream fruit cocktails. There remains a woody and bitter finish that really pulls this together. Finish - medium-medium long without much nuance or changes. There however is a nice lingering finish, really nicely done. This has really come along for me. I early on was pretty disappointed, but I've come to really like it. The sweat notes are well balanced. There is nice complexity. I thought I'd paid about 200 for this, but looking at prices it seems I paid 180. Worth it at that price? I have to say, I think it's well worth it. If you're into sweater scotch you really should seek this out.

Woho after a rollercoaster ride of up and downs this takes me all the way back up to 4.25 to 4.5 territory. Now a bottle with a bit of oxygen and time may give things a boost but it's rare (unless your palate is very fatigued) that in my experience that you can't immediately tell the good to very good from the great to excellent. This the Ardbeg Galileo and Red Spot hit you instantly with the impression they were a higher tier up straight out of the sample bottle without time or water (although you could argue they are from an opened bottle and so have had a good chance to air.. however so did the rest I tried from LeeEvolved). Anyhow this is a great one. Light sweet smoke, calvados apple honey and more in this one. Very well blended, balanced and decent hit of complexity (but not astounding). Thanks once again @LeeEvolved

Nose: dried apples, leather, floral, hard fruit candies, dried tropical fruits, shortcake, hint of maple syrup Taste: similar notes as above, but more floral, spices, salt, and oak. Finish: spices, oak, salt, floral, spices linger the longest. Hot and long finish considering the abv. 93/100* *I rank my whiskey based on a 100 point scale. It is a cumulative score with each category of nose, taste, finish, and balance worth up to 25 points. Here is how this score translates to the number of stars I give: 0 stars = 50 or below 1 star = 60 2 stars = 70 3 stars = 80 4 stars = 90 5 stars = 100 The score is rounded to the closest 1/4 star increment.

Quite a fun whisky - or say, it’s a spirit drink. It officially cannot be called “scotch whisky” due to the 1% “sacrificial” grain whisky. Nosing: At first, grassy and touch of caramel. This whisky will open up with time. By giving more time, more flavour will come up. Apple, banana, vanilla, orange blossom, pineapple, custard, caramel, maybe cream brûlée? It sort of reminds me the flavour of Vanilla Coke. Tasting: sweet, grassy, oaky, orange blossom, oily. Finish: grassy, oaky.

The nose on this new release from Compass Box is just bonkers: peach and lychee with an occasional hint of cheese ... possibly gruyere. No sign of these flavors on the syrupy palate, which is toast, ginger spice and dark orange chocolate. That spice is a little too dominant at first, but steps back a bit after a few sips. Nothing strange about another Compass Box delight, though the price is a bit cheeky, even allowing for the beautiful bottle.