20/04/2022 Compass Box

Glasgow Blend Limited Edition b.2019 (49%, Compass Box Great King St Single Marrying Cask selected by The Wine Merchant Ltd imported by Compass Box USA, ex-Sherry Marrying Cask, C#35, 132b): nose: there is an intensity at play, here, something quite hard to identify with certainty; a mix of hay-fire smoke, lemon peels, cider vinegar and roasted barley -- this is cereal-y alright. It then settles down and offers cologne, loquats, beechnuts and a timid sea breeze. A touch of fruit rears its head in the background, smothered by the afore mentioned and polished wood. Despite giving it time, the nose keeps the initial intensity that seems ready to puncture the nasal tissue at any point -- similar to lighter fluid, maybe. The second nose has a pinch of confectionary sugar thrown down a dirty chimney, and burnt rubber, reminiscent of skid marks on a race track. Mouth: ooft! This is huge. What a brilliant idea to bottle this at 49%, as opposed to 43% for the regular batches: it gives power and credibility. There is an immense peatiness that the nose did not prepare me for. Soot by the wheelbarrow, crumbly peat, 1840s-steam-train tenders, coke, scorched earth. The second sip adds a fierce dose of lemon juice, a dose that does not mask the smoky character, mind! Chewing on it allows pink pencil erasers to come through, waxed pencils, and a softer type of smoke -- but smoke, nevertheless. It has charred fruit peel too, likely citrus, but blackened beyond recognition. Finish: amusingly, it is different again. The peat is there alright, yet it is more subdued, this time; even though this still has coke bricks and buckets of soot, they are now almost on the same level as blush-orange segments and lemon-y capers. It is very drying too, by the way, salty and brine-y. There is even a fleeting dash of chlorinated water. The citrus turns more obvious with each sip, yet it is less fierce lemon and more tame calamansi or yuzu -- unless it is ciku? The finish is long. It leaves the lips throbbing, the gums coated in a fruity acidity, and the whole mouth as dry as if chewing on a piece of coal. Seriously good. 8/10