The Peat Monster vs. The Speyside

[jazznut]

Speyside represents, by any standards, a tiny enterprise. And it has taken the better part of a decade and a half for the whisky to begin showing its true depth and potential. George Christie deserves a lot of credit for sticking to his guns and fulfilling his dream to fashion a new, independently operating distillery site worthy of its title. An older distillery going by the same name operated not far away from the late 1800s into the early 1900s...

Speyside 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch – 40% alcohol by volume

Provenance: Highlands – The upper reaches of the Spey valley
Colour: Gold with topaz reflections.
Nose: Sultana raisins, orange zest and almond pastry enveloping a sharper still-house fragrance.
Palate: Richly textured from overture through mid palate. Honey Nut Cheerios, orange creamsicles and gingerbread wrapped around more sharply etched influences derived from copper and oak. Seamlessly satisfying, though tending to fade slightly at the finish.
Assessment: The smoothness and deft balance offer quite a few moments of delectable Highland bliss before the lights begin to dim.
Summary: Fine as it is, this Speyside gem remains a whisky begging to be unleashed at higher proof.

Anyone who has read more than a few of my posts in this forum knows of my passion not only for single malts, but also for vatted pure malt whiskies. While many look upon the latter as mere stepping stones to the world of single malt whiskies, it cannot be denied that the act of blending different single malts together offers the potential to create something quite extraordinary in terms of complexity and flavour development. Compass Box is an acknowledged industry leader in this quest...

Compass Box The Peat Monster Vatted Pure Malt Scotch – 46% alcohol by volume

Provenance: Islay and the Eastern Central Highlands region. A melding of distillates, ranging in age between a decade or so and the mid to high teens, from the Caol Ila and Ardmore sites. No chill-filtering or colouring agents employed.
Colour: Notably pale. Shimmering silver-gold with a light lemon cast.
Nose: Head-on collision between apple purée, lemongrass and sweet malt on the one side and kippers lightly garnished with ground pepper on the other, neither walking away a winner. Unique and tremendously alluring.
Palate: Sweet malt steeped in banana oil slides beneath incoming tides of dissolved smoke and salt, yet still manages to surface intermittently. The smoke displays a lingering, multifaceted nature, and the gentle, softening influence of the oak – likely from 2nd and 3rd-fill ex-Bourbon barrels – is almost an afterthought.
Assessment: Lip-smackingly delicious, peat-saturated whisky of the highest order with a surprising graciousness about it.
Summary: Caol Ila and Ardmore in tandem… What a stroke of brilliance!