Review #: 166
Description: Compass Box “The Spaniard”
Spirit: Scotch
Background: Compass Box is an independent bottler but rather than focusing on single malts, creates bottlings of blended scotch to sell to consumers. “The Spaniard” is a blend of Scotch aged in Spanish wine casks. Compass Box is generally fairly open about what is in their blends, but I am not sure which batch I sampled. This was provided by a friend for a “secret santa” swap so it was mostly blind (This was labeled “I love Scotch”) and it was revealed to me the contents after passing along my notes and ranking.
Distillery – Various
Bottler – Compass Box
Brand – Compass Box
Selection – N/A
ABV – 43%
Age – NAS
Nose – Sweet cream, toasted coconut, nutty and woody, there are some dark fruits in the background
Taste – Kind of funky/lactic/sour, some vanilla, a little thin on the mouthfeel
Finish – Malt turns a bit bitter, some cocoa, tannins, heat is light but persists a little
Guess: The lactic note makes me think Laddie but I don’t think it’s 50%. So I’m going to guess 46% ABV, 10-12 Years Old, Ex-bourbon, Cambeltown?
Score: 5
Would I buy a bottle? Possibly. I think this would be a good bottle to share with friends or bring to a party to have something decent that isn’t a bottle of JW or Monkey Shoulder
Thoughts: This was fairly enjoyable. The nose was interested and then the taste was as well, albeit in a different manner. It’s a bit thin but I could see myself reaching for a pour of this as a change of pace type pour. Post Reveal: At least my ABV meter seems to be working. I can see now more of the wine influence, but not being much of a wine drinker it was hard to identify at first.