Seventeenth Tasting

Seventeenth Tasting

A Magnetic Attraction of Fine Whisky

From all points east, west, north and south, this month we follow the magnetic needle to Compass Box. Compass Box Whisky Company has been a “specialist Scotch whiskymaker” since 2000. The company and its founder John Glaser have won all sorts of awards and unintentionally thumbed its nose at the whisky establishment.

Glaser’s background was deep within the establishment of the “big whisky” when he worked as Johnnie Walker Global Marketing Director. Because of his ties to Diageo, (bottler of the Classic Malts) which owns Johnnie Walker, Glaser had access to whiskies to use in his blends and vattings that others might not when he started his new venture.

Glaser is an American, living in London who has won the “Innovator of the Year Award” from Whisky Magazine four times and from Malt Advocate, has won “Pioneer of the Year Award,” twice. His whiskies have won well over 60 medals and prizes and are highly reviewed by all the well-known Scotch writers.

Glaser spent several years in the winemaking industry early in his career and because of this has a keen appreciation for the fine points of aging in wood. In fact he sources his casks and barrelheads from one of the finest French makers of wine casks. At the 2009 WhiskeyFest, his presentation made note of the difference in flavors one gets from various oaks. He likes French oak for the spicy notes it imparts to whisky, while American oak gives a creamy flavor.

We’ll sample three Compass Box bottlings in our official tasting with a bonus mini-nip from my personal bottle of Flaming Heart F16MMVII, 48.9% ABV.

Thanks to Glaser’s blending wizardry we’ll taste three varying takes on whisky blending. First, Hedonism, one of the few all-grain whiskies bottled anywhere, then Oak Cross, a vatted whisky* and Spice Tree, also vatted.

You may remember that grain whisky is the cheap filler used in blends such as Dewar’s, J&B and Johnnie Walker Red. Blends are usually 60% grain whisky and 40% or less single malts. Grain whisky is made from corn, wheat and barley in a less expensive method than single malts via a continuous distilling that does not require batches to be made in pot stills. These grain whiskies are also typically only three years old when bottled.

Hedonism, H29MMIX, 43% ABV is sourced from Cameron Bridge, Carsebridge and Cambus grain whisky distilleries in ages varying from 14 to 29 years, bottled in 2009.

John Haig established Cameron Bridge Distillery, in the lowlands, in 1824. He later went on to found Haig and Haig blenders, creators of Pinch (Dimple) Deluxe Blended Whisky. The distillery is now part of Diageo. It is the largest grain distillery in Scotland and was the first distillery to make grain whisky after the invention of the column still process in 1826 by Robert Stein, which was later perfected by Aeneas Coffey.

Another lowland distillery, Carsebridge was established in 1799 by John Bald, closed in 1983 and dismantled in 1992. It was originally a malt whisky distillery but changed over to grain whisky production in 1852.

Cambus was a lowland distillery from 1806-1993. It started grain whisky production probably about 1823. At the time of its closing it was owned by United Distillers.

According to the Compass Box literature, “When good Scotch grain whisky is aged in good quality American oak casks, the results can be stunning: a rich, sweet, alluring whisky, redolent of vanilla, pastry cream and coconut.”

This is an aperitif style whisky. After tasting this you’ll realize that the oft-stated “fact” that grain whisky is flavorless is less than truthful. Hedonism is designated as bottling number: H29MMIX, which means the oldest whisky is 29 years old and it was bottled in 2009. Hedonism is Winner of Best Grain Whisky in the World, World Whisky Awards 2009 and 2008, batches H25MMVII and H30MMVIII

Price: About $100

Our Cross to Bear

Our next whisky is called Oak Cross because, “it offers the best characteristics of both American and French oak aging. A rich, medium-bodied malt whisky, Oak Cross combines vanilla characters from American oak and spicy, clove-like characters from French oak.” Here Glaser’s experience with experimenting in wood aging comes into play. “All the whiskies are aged for their primary maturation in a mix of American oak cask types. The marrying casks are a mix of first-fill Bourbon barrels and our proprietary “Oak Cross” casks made of American and new French oak,” in a 50/50 proportion for up to 12 months.

All the Highland single malts that make up this vatted whisky are 10-12 years old and are led by Teaninich, which is complimented by malts from Clynelish (for fruitiness) and Dailuaine (for weight). “On the palate, notes of clove and vanilla accent a sweet maltiness and subtle fruit character.”

Jim Murray in the 2008 Whisky Bible rated A 2006 bottling of Oak Cross 94.

Murray says, “This is a genius whisky that must be drunk as nature intended.”

Oak Cross is part of the Signature Range from Compass Box. The three Scotch whiskies in this range offer the spectrum of Scotch whisky style, from the delicate, sweet character of Asyla, to the rich, spicy, malty character of Oak Cross, to the peaty-smoky character of Peat Monster. Our bottling is Oak Cross, 43% ABV.

Price: about $48

Dram It! Spicing up your whisky palate

Our last dram Spice Tree, bottled 2009, 46% ABV has an interesting history. As I mentioned at the top of these notes, Glaser unintentionally thumbed his nose at the whisky establishment a few years ago. Well here’s that story.

The bottling we’re sampling is the third incarnation of an experiment Glaser performed in increasing wood contact by placing inner staves inside already existing casks. This is a technique borrowed from wine making.

According to Glaser, “First launched in 2005, we were forced to discontinue production under a legal threat by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) for our pioneering use of the highest quality French oak inner staves. This despite rave reviews from consumers, trade and press. We agreed to disagree with SWA and halted production.

“Over the past three years we developed a new maturation process which yields similar if not superior results to our previous method. Rather than using inner stave inserts, as we did for the original, we rack the whisky in barrels with heavily toasted new French oak heads. We use oak with three different levels of toasting thus allowing us to blend the resultant whiskies to create additional layers of complexity. This second maturation lasts as long as two years.” This is a similar process to that used in Oak Cross but with more heavily toasted wood and left to age for a longer period.

John Hansell of Malt Advocate says, “Notes of sticky toffee, vanilla fudge, bramble, and red currant give way to

oak resin, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and subtle lemongrass. A tactile, somewhat resinous, polished leather finish wraps it up.” He rates this version of Spice Tree 84 and prefers the earlier versions, now outlawed by the SWA.

Rhiannon Walsh of Celtic Malts notes:

“On the nose: Deep and rich, sweet and alluringly warm with hints of clove and cinnamon; lingering slight musk.

“On the palate: First: this is a whisky of profound depth and layer after layer of flavour. The striking notes are of a sweet toffee, freshly ground cinnamon and a rich Zepherin Drouhin rose, blooming in a warm sun (really!!) But continuing on behind these first layers there unfolds the impressions, on both nose and palate, of freshly sawed cherry wood rubbed in natural oils. The earthy, yet delicate flavours /aromas of the wood/oil bring a layer of changeable experience to this whisky that take you back to this bottle time and time again. Tiny flashes of dark chocolate also filter through and the overall impression is one of total satisfaction.

“The highest compliment I can offer is to say: This is a complete whisky.”

Price: about $70

Heart Burn

Finally, the history of our bonus bottle, Flaming Heart, bottled in 2007. This is a vatting which contains whiskies between 10 and16 years old from Caol Ila and Clynelish with a touch of Daluaine. We sampled this at our May 22, 2008 tasting of all-vatted whiskies along with Johnnie Walker Green, Monkey Shoulder, Famous Grouse 18 and John Mark and Robbo’s The Rich Spicy One. (Rated 95.5 by Jim Murray in the 2010 Whisky Bible). Flaming Heart is a Bronze winner 2007 and 2008 Malt Maniacs Awards.

Gavin Smith and Tom Cannavan of the web site Whisky-Pages provide these notes: the nose is herbal and spicy, with notes of damp undergrowth, cloves, eucalyptus, sweet peat and a touch of Sherry. Exposure to air brings out tangy, fruit aromas. Malt, peat and ginger dominate the well-balanced palate, with peat, dried fruit and lots of spice in the medium to long finish. They rate it 3 1/2 stars out of five, which means good verging on excellent.

Price: sold out at most retailers but this 2007 bottling is still available for about $80 at Binny’s, Chicago. Future bottlings may or may not be released.

*Vattings, which are mixtures of single malt whisky without grain whisky, are now known as Blended Malt Scotch Whisky on labeling sanctioned by the Scotch Whisky Association

Oak Cross 43% ABV

Hedonism 43% ABV

(2010) Spice Tree 46% ABV

Lombard Teaninich 43% ABV

Second edition of Flaming Heart 48.9% ABV

Seventeenth Tasting - Compass Box Oak Cross, Hedonism,

Spice Tree, Flaming Heart

Thursday, January 21, 2010

1/21/10 meeting wrap up

Our 17th meeting was at Mark’s house.

Attending were, Bill, Nancy, Besim, Mary, Dan, John, guest, Kent and yours truly.

We tasted all Compass Box releases plus a bonus dram of Teaninich, courtesy of Bill.

In order, we sampled Oak Cross 43% ABV, Hedonism 43% ABV, (2010) Spice Tree 46% ABV, Lombard Teaninich 43% ABV and finally the second edition of Flaming Heart 48.9% ABV.

We discussed the influence of wood on whisky in general but especially as it applies to Compass Box. A lively bit of discussion also covered the seemingly nearsighted restrictions of the SWA in its ruling that the original Spice Tree would not fit into their definition of Scotch Whisky.

The Oak Cross seemed to have a nice light sweet nose that was floral, with slight spiciness and hints of fruit, both apple and orange. On the palate was a creamy vanilla, light maltiness and a woody element with a sweet, cinnamon lingering finish. This would be a great light aperitif whisky and I would rate it and 80 –85. We all agreed this would be an easy sipper.

Although Hedonism was arguably the most complex whisky of the evening, I put it second in order for our tasting because I thought the Spice Tree would be the more overpowering flavor. Between this and Spice Tree we had the most opinions for the outstanding dram of the evening. This multi award winner has a rich vanilla, marshmallow cream and caramel nose. On the palate it is mouth coating with a slightly peppery vanilla and a sweet long finish. I’d give this an 85-90. Although light, it has a very warming presence.

Spice Tree was very impressive in its level of flavor without having the influence of port or sherry. On the nose was a slight whiff of cedar wood, with clove, black cherry and menthol. On the palate was spicy clove and cinnamon with vanilla, black cherry, and caramel in a warming & pleasant combination. An 85-90 is where I would rate this one too, tending towards the higher end.

Next we sampled the Teaninich. This is a rarely bottled single with most of its production going to blends such as Johnnie Walker and the liqueur, Drambuie. We sampled Teaninich because it is a component of both the Oak Cross and Spice Tree along with Clynelish and Dailuaine. The Lombard Teaninich had a very creamy palate with a marshmallowy influence. (I have to admit I forgot to take notes on this one.) I’d rate it an 80-85, but would like to sample this one again.

Our final dram, Flaming Heart, is a big favorite of mine. I’d rate it at 90-95 and love the interplay of the smoky and sweet from the Caol Ila, Clynelish and Dailuaine.

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