Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Compass Box The General
According to Compass Box, The General is a combination of two blended whiskies, each of which had been blended when very young and returned to casks for further aging. One lot was 33 years old, and Compass Box is not disclosing the age of the other. They included both bourbon and sherry cask aged whisky. This bottling came and went pretty quickly, but there may still be some on the shelves.
Compass Box The General, 53.4% ($300)
The nose on this is really nice with fruity malt. The palate has vanilla and malt with a creamy mouthfeel. The finish is floral with hints of malt.
This is a really nice whisky and very typical of Compass Box with its fruity, flowery notes. It's very versatile and tastes much more like a single malt than a blend. While I really liked it, it would be hard for me to justify paying for it at that price (I got a sample from a friend). There are certainly whiskies of comparable quality that are much cheaper. Still, it's always fun to try the newest creation from Compass Box.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Thanks for the great notes! What do you think about the Peat Monster 10th anniversary (not the park avenue liquors edition)?
Across many of the trusted blogs I follow I've noticed a commonality when it comes to reviewing these new premium whiskies: "not worth the price of admission". Seems like not that long ago expensive premium bottles still merritted their lofty price tags. Now? It appears as though many, nay most, do not. Some out there may say this is a sign that the whiskey bubble has burst. Maybe it has. I think that the market is simply in transition and truly exception bottles are gone for awhile. Good news though. There are still many bottles to pick up and enjoy that won't cost you a days pay to obtain.
What say you Sku?
The bubble certainly hasn't burst yet. All prices are high, much higher than they used to be. I could say that almost every new release is too expensive, but that would be unfairly comparing the price to the market as it was three years ago.
For this particular blend, my thinking was that you can pick up any number of indie bottlings in the $100-$200 range that would be as good as this. That being said, this is a good blend and a limited one of a kind blend, so that may be worth it to some people.
Anon, I haven't tried the Peat Monster 10th.
Compass Box, like High West, has always priced their limited releases one step ahead of the market I participated in. Two years ago when the 4th Edition Flaming Heart came out, $90 was a steep price to pay, but it doesn't seem so expensive in the current market. I'd rather pay $300 for a unique, high quality, 30yo+ blend at CS and NCF than an 21yo Macallan at 40%, chill-filtered and colored with caramel. I think CB is very strategic in their pricing compared to the excesses of Edrington's and Diageo's products.
Sku, I must have missed something here. I thought Black Maple Hill was bottled by CVI brands in San Carlos, not Oregon... What gives?
Nevermind - posted this under the wrong thread. Just saw the whole discussion.
I have both the 10th Anniv. And reg. Peat Monster, which I opened at the same time. At first I felt they were slightly different, but about equal, so I didn't think the 10th was worth buying. Now that I'm down to the last few inches in each, I wish I had picked up one or two more 10th's, as it has significantly improved while the reg PM is the same.
Post a Comment