2022 Edition Blended Malt | 48.9% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Triple S: spicy, sweet ‘n’ smoky
Trailblazers still?
Pioneers often blaze the trail, forging through challenges with no guarantee of success, with only their willingness and stubborn belief that their direction will lead them to somewhere they desire.
Many try and few succeed in this endeavour. But even those initially successful venturers, many of which stretch a “lead” on the competition owing to their daring new direction or product, can often get overtaken by those that follow.
Such is the tale of Compass Box. From my perspective of course!
Founded in 2000, a date that (yikes!) does not seem 26 years ago, they’ve been releasing blended malts, scotch and grain whiskies for longer than some whisky drinkers have been alive. They first pioneered blended grain whiskies as a product category, later making waves with their unique blends and artistic labels that bucked traditions and attempts at age statement control with the nefarious Scotch Whisky Association, and then creating a variety of core range blends with distinct flavour profiles while continuing to release special small-batch releases.
And then the chinks started showing. Prices soared. Quality remained the same or even fell a notch or two. Their founder and master blender moved on, as one may expect after a while, and now they are on their fourth or fifth lead blender in as many years. As changes happen, vision and ethos can change, switching from simple, few-component blends under John Glaser (the original whisky maker and founder) to complex, multi-component blends (James Saxon, Glaser’s long-time protégé and second blender) and since, everything in between.
Earlier in 2023 I had written that 2023 was going to be the year of the blends, based on some excellent value TBWC blends and with a burgeoning bulge of independent bottler blends emerging on the market. The Thompson Bros released their well-received TB/BSW as a 6yo, North Star with their Tarot series, Turntable popping up with their dark and juicy music-themed releases, Little Brown Dog, Cadenhead’s Enigma, Living Souls… the list goes on and on.
So while I recommend you don’t listen to me for financial advice, especially since I spend far too much money on whisky when I could be diverting it to investments and retirement, it looks like I had guesstimated correctly.
Fast forward to mid-2024, and this 2022 release of Flaming Heart went on sale, down to a more palatable price point. Hearing about the buzz of previous releases of Flaming Heart, many of which were well before this 2022 edition, I decided to add it to my shelves at the new discounted price.
Review
Compass Box Flaming Heart, 2022 7th Edition, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, 48.9% ABV
CAD$175 paid (£95) & still some availability
The blend for this is a bit of the kitchen’s sink, featuring many different distilleries or even components from other Compass Box blends. Rather than trying to regurgitate Compass Box’s excellent tree-ring depiction, I’ll just point you to their site so you can peek for yourself.
If I might summarize, this is a blend of Laphroaig, Talisker, Caol Ila, Glen Elgin, Balmenach, and a few other tidbits tossed in, all coming from recharred hogsheads, ex-bourbon or French oak.
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
Triple S: spicy, sweet ‘n’ smoky
Nose
Lots to unpack here. Cinnamon hearts (the Valentine’s day candies), hot wood coals simmering in the bottom of a fire pit. There’s some bright Caol Ila peat on the nose with seaside vibes. There’s warm brown sugar here - an expected sweetness - and also a very gentle delicate fruitiness riding underneath, like a baked apple tart or heavily cinnamon spiced apple pie.
I could nose this all day. But wait, there’s more!
Palate
This is viscous and creamy stuff. The cinnamon hearts are back but not overpowering at all and now complemented by Texas black pepper-based smoked meat vibes. Smoked baby back pork ribs slathered in brown sugar-based sauce. Wood smoke vibes. Very background, but a lovely fruity undertone; I think the baked apples from the nose, but it’s hard to distinctly tell underneath the smoke and spicy tingles.
The finish is a long and very gradual decline of sweets and gentle woody coal smoke, with a pleasant cinnamon heart tingle all the way. Wonderful.
The Dregs
This blend is perhaps one of the best examples of how a blend should be. Can a Laphroaig, Balmenach or Caol Ila taste like this? I’d wager that it would be very unlikely. So this is perhaps a perfect illustration of how blends should be: creating something that shouldn’t be possible from its raw ingredients. Blends shouldn’t be created to cover up sub-par ingredients. They should be created to accentuate the ingredients, bringing forth new flavours and experiences.
This is a whisky I’m sad to see go, but also not willing to replace. The price is quite dear, and borderline of a scoring price reduction, and therefore not worth the chase. I am, however, quite happy to have it in my collection. Quite the hypocrisy then eh? Yes and no.
If I compare this whisky to other premium Compass Box blends, such a KWM’s 30th Anniversary release, then the Flaming Heart is close but not as balanced - with more spicy aspects. This is all down to personal preference. Someone might find the KWM blend too soft for their liking and align more with the spicy aspects of this edition of Flaming Heart.
But rest assured, this blended malt is very high quality and the score can be taken as an indication of your preference. Also a sign of the times and changes at Compass Box is that Kensington Wine Market, a long-time supporter of Compass Box here in Canada and specialist whisky shop that has featured custom-label bespoke blends to support their major anniversaries, is looking to be no longer able to create a subsequent 35th Anniversary blend.
Things are changing at Compass Box and we will have to wait and see how it all shapes up.
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB
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