Independent bottler Compass Box has announced its newest release, Art & Decadence, a limited-edition blended malt whisky.
Inspired by the late 19th Century Aesthetic and Decadent movements, the whiskymakers at Compass Box sought to channel the age of excess with a whisky that would complement the end of a meal, the company says.
To compose this rich expression, James Saxon, lead whiskymaker at Compass Box, used a foundation of malt whisky from the Balmenach Distillery, finished separately for almost a year in three different ex-wine casks: Madeira, Sauternes and Marsala. These casks help bring succulence, preserved fruit notes and honeyed character to the underlying meaty sweetness of Balmenach, the distillery reports.
Layered into the expression is malt whisky from the Linkwood Distillery, aged in Palo Cortado sherry-seasoned butts, and malt whisky from the Glen Moray Distillery, finished in Oloroso sherry-seasoned butts. Grain whisky from the now-closed Port Dundas Distillery adds “silk and gloss,” the company says.
The end result is a nose of red apples, waxed wood and wine notes; creamy, with a licorice aroma; banana, toffee and custard blended with Sauternes, according to distillery notes. The palate brings dried fruit — golden raisin, apricot — apple and plenty of vanilla; lasting flavors of dark chocolate shavings and fragrant oak.
“This is a rich and potent whisky, designed for dessert and decadent behavior, with wine cask influence that stops just short of being over-the-top,” says Saxon. “We have taken glossily sweet grain whiskies and combined them with unpeated malt whiskies matured in American oak barrels, custom French oak casks, and not one but three different types of dessert wine cask. Like we said, more is more.”
Compass Box Art & Decadence is 98 proof. A total of 9,496 bottles roll out worldwide for a suggested retail price of $180 per 700-ml. bottle.
This follows the release of Compass Box The Extinct Blends Quartet Metropolis Scotch Whisky.
