Once again, G-LO received his weekly booze mail shipment. In the mail, he received two samples from Compass Box: the 3 Year Old Deluxe and the Spice Tree Extravaganza (and a tote bag too which he used to carry the samples over to my hacienda. We love swag!). We have reviewed a number of Compass Box's releases over the years (the Flaming Heart 2015 and This Is Not a Luxury Whisky, The Lost Blend and the Great King Street Glasgow Blend, Hedonism Quindecimus, Bern's Limited Edition Blended Grain Whisky), so we are familiar with their blends and are big fans of the finished product. Needless to say, we were quite pleased with the package and couldn't wait to dive into the samples.
I love that Compass Box is thumbing its nose at the establishment by offering a "3 Year old whisky" that contains 99.6% whisky that has been aged far longer than three years. On the face of it, you would expect something raw and unfinished, when in reality, Compass Box is marketing a high-end product. And, who doesn't love an extravaganza! Compass Box's Spice Tree takes whisky from three sources and after vatting uses four different kinds of barrels to age the whisky. With the Extravaganza version, slightly less than 50% is taken from the vatting of the original three sources and three more sources are added into the mix. Additionally, two of the new sources (and almost 50% of the blend) are aged in sherry casks. This takes a really well-crafted Spice Tree and kicks it up a notch in terms of the craftiness of the aging process.
Now that we have all of that out of the way, let's move on to our reviews!
Compass Box 3 Year Old Deluxe
Here's what Compass Box has to say about their 3 Year Old Deluxe...Composed of less than 1% three year-old malt whisky produced near the village of Brora, 90% malt whisky of an unstated age from the same distillery and around 9% peaty malt whisky distilled on the Isle of Skye, regulations only permit us only to share details of the age of youngest component! No matter. For it is this three year-old that is most important to us. Aged from new-make spirit in our own first-fill American oak casks, it imparts a lively vivacity and represents a milestone in our development as whisky makers.
- Appearance : Pure liquid gold in a glass.
- ABV : 49.2%
The Verdict
- Limp : Just a great balance of flavors that really hold up and hold together. And, I love that the name mocks the age statement convention. 0.4% of a 3 year old whisky and 99.6% of matured whisky that creates the best 3 year old whisky on the market.
- G-LO : Wow! Just wow! Because I didn't read anything about this whisky before I sampled it, the number "3" that they slapped on the label lowered my expectations (silly me. I should have remembered that 3 Is a Magic Number!). This stuff was delicious. A delightful blend of fruit, spice and herbs. Where do I buy a bottle?
Compass Box Spice Tree Extravaganza
Here's what Compass Box has to say about their Spice Tree Extravaganza...As the name suggests, the liquid draws its inspiration from our Signature Range classic, The Spice Tree, but reinterprets it through the use of older components and a significant portion of sherry-cask aged malt whisky. The Spice Tree's trademark spice character is retained but set within a richer, more elegant frame with a new depth of flavour and complexity.
- Appearance : Still liquid gold, but edging closer to amber.
- ABV : 46%
The Verdict
- Limp : I'm not sure what happened when I tasted this one. I got all the heat upfront and the sweetness on the backend. Maybe, I needed to let this sit for a while. It wasn't bad (in fact it was quite good), just unexpected. I like sherry casks and it seemed like the sherry notes were knocked into the background a bit. I liked this one, but I have to say that I liked the 3 Year Old a whole lot more.
- G-LO : I've always liked Spice Tree with its oodles of layered flavors. I'm not going to say this is better than the standard issue but it definitely kicks things up a bit. Yummy!
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