Compass Box Peat Monster (revisited)...

Compass Box Peat Monster (46.0%): With Compass Box releases it is actually more like tasting the latest batch rather than "revisiting"... They never hide the fact that they might make pretty drastic changes in the recipes from batch to batch to achieve the consistency of their whiskies. We saw earlier releases of Peat Monster containing malt whiskies sourced from various distilleries like Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Ledaig, Ardmore and Clynelish as well as some pre-blended malts. The current batch in the market which I am about to taste is based heavily on Caol Ila. 64% of the whisky is coming from Caol Ila distillery and matured in various refill hogsheads. 35% is distilled by Laphroaig distillery and 1% of the vat is Compass Box's signature Highland blend we are very familiar with from their other expressions. The whisky is bottled without any color coloring and chill filtration.

Color: Very pale as lemon chiffon, dry straw color with a thin line of tiny teardrops around the glass turning into narrow and slow moving legs.

Nose: Yellow grapefruit wedges, lemon zest and sea spray. Rosemary leaves, pine forest floor on a hot summer day and plastic food containers. Dried strawberries, olive brine and dried flowers. A basket full of old glossy magazines found in the attic. Four fruits preserve, wintergreens and wet wool.

Palate: Sea salt, unsweetened pastry cream and bread crust. Salted butter, chives and thyme... Goat cheese, labneh, dried pineapple rings and dried papaya slices. Wet sand and seaweed.

Finish: Long with dried rosemary, black pepper and sea salt.

Overall: A very coastal, creamy and salty release. The texture is pitch perfect... A less vegetal and more fruity batch compared to some earlier releases with a good amount of creamy notes both on the nose and on the palate. I liked this batch a lot to be honest... A good sipper with quite a reasonable price tag as always.

Price: $58

89/100