Douglas Laing's Timorous Beastie (46.8% abv)
Colour - White wine
Nose - Almost like white wine on initial nosing. After a while, quite a bit of grass and honey. Heather as well. Oranges seems to be the main fruit in this. Perhaps due to the influence of the Dalmore? A faint bit of peat right at the back. Fairly straightforward malt too.
Palate - Sweet entry. A lot of honey and heather. Some grass. And more honey. Then sweet oranges...mandarin oranges, almost. This is malty and slightly yeasty, giving it a mild sour note, but mostly like fresh, soft, white bread. Comforting. A mix of spices - cinnamon, maybe nutmeg? A light peat undertone, but not very noticeable.
Finish - A little bit drying, and a small dash of pepper. Smoke at the back of the throat. The other spices help the finish to last, revealing a touch of oak and peat at the end.
Overall - pleasant and simple. A decent vatted malt that is value for money if you can get it at under $100.
Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend (43% abv)
Colour - light amber. What's the right word for this?
Nose - Alternates between being sherried and peated, as advertised. Vanilla too! Was that from the cask, or from the grain whisky? A few drops of seawater.
Palate - Sweet and a bit syrupy on entry, but that quickly gives way to a wine character. Slightly sour, and grapes. Perhaps one other red fruit, but it gets taken over by peat before I manage to identify it. The peat is medicinal and slightly bitter. A little ashy, yet grassy and vegetal at the same time. A little spiced, ginger and cinnamon? Ok, scratch that. The spice grows - pepper...ginger? The sides of my tongue are tasting a rich sherry sweetness, but the middle part says peat. A bit confusing, but in a good way. Lemon zest, and a light kiss by the sea. I mean that there's a little salt in this. A salt-water fish with a dash of lemon? Peat and pepper just before it goes down.
Finish - Peat and a bit of tea tannins. English breakfast that's been steeping in the hot water for too long, I reckon. The spices on the palate hang around quite a bit. Then oak. And right at the back, before the finish ends, a rich red fruit. Ripe, sweet berries? This is a fairly long finish. Gets a bit drying though.
Overall: If I did not know prior to drinking, I may not have realized that this was a blended whisky and may have mistaken it for a blended malt, or even a sherried Islay. There isn't any overt grain whisky flavours - no big vanilla, coconuts, syrup, or stuff like that. Just a good, clean peaty and sherried whisky. A clear goal set, and well-achieved by Compass Box. I quite like this. Like a cheapo version of the Laphroaig 32. Which isn't surprising, as this blend has some Laphroaig in it.
Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend (43% abv)
Colour - light amber. What's the right word for this?
Nose - Alternates between being sherried and peated, as advertised. Vanilla too! Was that from the cask, or from the grain whisky? A few drops of seawater.
Palate - Sweet and a bit syrupy on entry, but that quickly gives way to a wine character. Slightly sour, and grapes. Perhaps one other red fruit, but it gets taken over by peat before I manage to identify it. The peat is medicinal and slightly bitter. A little ashy, yet grassy and vegetal at the same time. A little spiced, ginger and cinnamon? Ok, scratch that. The spice grows - pepper...ginger? The sides of my tongue are tasting a rich sherry sweetness, but the middle part says peat. A bit confusing, but in a good way. Lemon zest, and a light kiss by the sea. I mean that there's a little salt in this. A salt-water fish with a dash of lemon? Peat and pepper just before it goes down.
Finish - Peat and a bit of tea tannins. English breakfast that's been steeping in the hot water for too long, I reckon. The spices on the palate hang around quite a bit. Then oak. And right at the back, before the finish ends, a rich red fruit. Ripe, sweet berries? This is a fairly long finish. Gets a bit drying though.
Overall: If I did not know prior to drinking, I may not have realized that this was a blended whisky and may have mistaken it for a blended malt, or even a sherried Islay. There isn't any overt grain whisky flavours - no big vanilla, coconuts, syrup, or stuff like that. Just a good, clean peaty and sherried whisky. A clear goal set, and well-achieved by Compass Box. I quite like this. Like a cheapo version of the Laphroaig 32. Which isn't surprising, as this blend has some Laphroaig in it.
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