Compass Box Orchard House Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, 70cl | Fruity & Fragrant | 46%

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Palate: Sweet and bright. Tart apple is balanced by pineapple, golden syrup, buttery pastry, with that subtle peat smoke appearing underneath. Announced together with Canvas, this Compass Box Orchard House is the most recent addition to the core range from the blending wizards. They say it’s their first blended malt composed almost entirely with spirit they once bought as new make and laid down in specific casks. There’s something really extraordinary and compelling, and magical, a deep cultural history that nobody gets, nobody understands. I thought I could bring this discovery to the world by doing it on my own rather than with all the money we had at Johnnie Walker.” The art of making whisky: Compass Box’s Artist Blend

It’s also soft and oily which makes for a pleasant drinking experience. If I had an “un-peated un-sherried” table Scotch this Compass Box Orchard House would probably be it. The Spaniard would hold the sherried/wine finished role and the peated honor would be Peat Monster. And now that I’ve said that out loud… I kind of want “table Scotch” to be more of a thing. At least in my house. Finish: Decent length with apple orchard flavors stealing the show. This whisky lives up to its name! Scads of apple and pear flavors on the finish combine with delightful and delicious toasted oak and vanilla notes. Rating: 7/10, Very Good kez London Whisky Show 2021’de tatma fırsatı yakaladığım Orchard House’un 2022 şişelemesinde harmanda ufak değişimler olmuş. Compass Box’ın yıldan yıla şişelerinde bu şekilde değişiklikler yaptığını belirteyim. Compass Box Orchard House (Blended Malt, 46% abv) Nice oily mouthfeel and the immediate sharpness of raspberries. The apple and vanilla notes are ever present and help balance out the berry tartness. The finish is like a warm toffee apple and right at the end is where I think I detect that tiny percentage of peat. It gently wafts in and adds an exclamation point to the profile. Water softens everything out and removes much of the sharpness. Nose: Initially spice-driven with some pepper and nutmeg, the nose eventually transitions to lightly salted almonds followed by cotton candy (or candy floss). Bushels of fresh cut honey crisp apple and pear notes really capture the scents that the bottle is named after.It brings together some of the fruitiest single malts. There’s 39% Linkwood, 29% Clynelish and 20% Benrinnes, all aged 8 years in first-fill bourbon barrels, plus minor parts of Aberlour (Oloroso seasoned butt), Caol Ila (first-fill bourbon) and their signature Highland Malt blend (custom French oak barrel). We may sell, license, transfer, assign or in any other way dispose of the Service (including Members) to any third party without any notification to you, e.g. (but without limitation) in connection with any reorganization, restructuring, merger or sale, or other transfer of assets. I’m a big John Glaser fan. I think he’s done more to elevate blended scotch and especially blended malt (The Artist Formerly Known As Vatted Malt) than anyone in the industry. That said, the last many releases I’ve found to be overpriced and while not underwhelming, they have not exceeded expectations. I’m sure this is due to a drastic increase in pricing of barrels on the secondary market, a drastic decrease in the quality available on the secondary market (distilleries are keeping their good barrels for popular limited releases), and frankly a limited canvas. If your audience is jaded whisky drinkers like yours truly who expect to have their heightened expectations exceeded with every new release, and all you’ve got is a dwindling supply of Clynelish, Linkwood, Caol Ila, and Benrinnes barrels to draw from, well… I guess I should be more lenient.

Blend: Linkwood (39%), Clynelish (29%), Benrinnes (20%), Macallan (8%), Caol Ila (2%), Highland Malt Blend (2% – 60% Clynelish, 20% Dailuaine, 20% Teaninich) Compass Box never seems to slow down its efforts, and when it’s not releasing new spirits, it’s revamping old ones. The Great King Street collection dropped between 2011 and 2014, launched to celebrate the preferred whisky styles of the people of Edinburgh and Glasgow (at least according to a book published in 1930). In 2021, Compass Box has dropped the Great King Street portion of the branding but keeps the subtitles of the two whiskies. (Though Artist’s Blend has now become just Artist Blend.) Both spirits have been “redesigned,” but it’s unclear to what degree; I haven’t tasted either of these releases in many years. The administration that put these tariffs in place thought, ‘well, single malts are the best; they must be the most expensive’, not thinking that there may be blended Scotch whiskies and blended malts, and other categories of Scotch whisky, which are equally good, equally expensive, or more expensive,” says Glaser. “People have this perception that single malts are the best.”Then, during a holiday to the Bahamas with his wife, Glaser had his ‘eureka!’ moment, and realised his ambition to set up his own Scotch whisky company.

This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. So happy I almost don’t even care if it’s good… almost. I mean, if it’s not good I’m never buying another bottle and that would be sad. Right now my regular buys in the Compass Box line are the Spaniard, Peat Monster and Glasgow Blend which are all great, but it’s all a bunch of peat and sherry/wine casks. I’d love to add in an ex-Bourbon fruit bomb to the rotation. And maybe, just maybe, this will be the answer.

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Nose: Fresh green and red apples almost hit you in the face, living up to its name. Underneath there’s notes of grainy pear skin, bright lychee, and a faint hint of aromatic smoke. The majority of the bottle is first-fill bourbon barrel Linkwood (39%), and that’s followed by 29% Clynelish also drawn from first-fill bourbon barrels. The third major component is 20% Benrinnes, again taken from first-fill bourbon casks. Notice a pattern? However, those three pillars are bolstered by 8% from a revatted oloroso sherry-seasoned butt from a “distillery near the town of Aberlour,” 2% from a first-fill bourbon barrel from Caol Ila, and finally 2% from Compass Box’s very own Highland malt blend. This latter ingredient features malts from Glen Moray, Balmenach and Tomatin. Phew! With Water: A few drops of water add a few tart fruit to the aroma – lemon-lime – as well as some nondescript floral notes. The palate is softer, sweeter, nuttier, and in better balance with the (still present) anise flavors. The finish might be sweeter as well. I highly recommend experimenting with water on this one.