Compass Box Bo Age Statement Oak Cross (43%, OB, +/-2009)

From the Compass Box Website;

We call this malt whisky Oak Cross because it offers the best characteristics of both American and French oak aging. A rich, medium-bodied malt whisky, Oak Cross combines vanilla characters from American oak and spicy, clove-like characters from French oak.

Innovative New Oak Casks

We work with a small mill in France that produces some of the highest quality cooperage oak in the world. It was our work with this mill that led us to experimenting with secondary maturation of malt whiskies in casks fitted with new French oak heads. This is something no one else in Scotland does. The result is malt whisky with more character and complexity. We use this technique on about 50% of the malt whisky in Oak Cross and it results in a superior finished product.

The Signature Range from Compass Box

Oak Cross is part of the Signature Range from Compass Box. The three Scotch whiskies in this range offer the spectrum of Scotch whisky style, from the delicate, sweet character of Asyla, to the rich, spicy, malty character of Oak Cross, to the peaty-smoky character of Peat Monster. Each is made from casks chosen individually, cask-by-cask, to ensure perfect maturity. The casks are combined according to recipe and returned to wood for “marrying” up to 12 months before bottling. Steps like these enhance complexity, flavour integration and soft mouth feel. Extra steps, but we think they’re worth it.

W.I. tasting note:

The nose is dusty malt, heathery, light chocolate followed by some hints of wine. It is very clean yet ripe and full at the same time, the aromas concentrate with a little hand warming, there are hints of the spice island in the back ground, again a rich clean nose. The taste is smooth, honeyed, malty, heathery and warming. It is slightly shy at first but grows in the mouth, a really good collection of flavours. The finish is malt, with loads of Fry’s cocoa, the heathery notes and more oak spice and quite dry toward the very end. It is also quite long and never wavers…

It’s good.

Score 85 points

C$58

Visit Compass Box at  http://www.compassboxwhisky.com/