Flaming Heart 4th Edition Review

“A Potential Cracker”

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Flaming Heart (4th Edition)

Bottler: Compass Box Whisky Co.

Type: Blended Malt Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 48.9 %

Colour: Straw/Yellow Gold

Nose: Wet Earth, Slightly Medicinal Peat, Tar, Cold Smoke, Ashes, Shell Fish, Wet Newspaper, Malt, Sugared Breakfast Cereals, Diesel Oil, Lemon, Walnut Shells, Vanilla, Perfumed Soap, light Honey, Caramel, ripe Banana, Pineapple, Sweet Cherries, Straw, Charred Oak, Menthol, Pepper, Salt and Nutmeg. It's a well-balanced Sweet & Peat combo but it lacks intensity. It's rather Light and there's a Young feel to the Spirit. The Alcohol is reasonably well integrated.  

Palate: More Citrus than on the Nose, especially Lemon and Grapefruit. I also find Sweet Peat, Cold Smoke, Brine, Ashes, Charred Oak, Salted Butter, Shell Fish, Apple, Vanilla, Green Olives, Espresso Coffee, Medicinal notes, Sugared Cereals, Nut Shells, Straw, Pepper and Nutmeg. The Alcohol is noticeable here as it is in the Finish.  

Finish: Quite Long and Salty with Lemon, Cherry, Licorice, Sugared Tea, Wet Clay, Cold Smoke, Ashes, Shell Fish, Charred Oak, Menthol, Pepper and Green Olives.  

I added a bit of Water and on the Nose the impression of a Young Spirit with a high ABV increases. I find some Meaty notes as well as a bit of Tropical Fruit. I don't think added Water improves the Palate and I get too much Sugared Tea in the Finish. But the Flaming Heart gives you some space to experiment with a couple of drops at the time.

Rating: 85

Nose: 21.5 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5 

General Remarks: This is the 4th Edition of the Flaming Heart Expression by Compass Box. It was released and bottled in August 2012. Only 9147 bottles were made available. Like all whiskies released by Compass Box it's Naturally Coloured and Non Chill-Filtered. The Single Malts used to compose this Blend mainly matured in refill Ex-Bourbon Casks and New Heavily Toasted French Oak Casks. For the first time Compass also included some Ex-Sherry Casks in the composition. The 4th Edition consists of roughly 2/3 Clynelish, 1/3 Laphroaig as well as a bit of Malt from Speyside and the Islands. It is sold at around 110 US Dollars on average. (April 2015). 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: This is my first Flaming Heart so I can't compare this 4th Edition to its predecessors. Let me start by saying that this is a solid Blended Malt that offers a nice combination of Sweet Highland and Peated Islay. It's quite well balanced. The ABV is a tad too high in my opinion and it seems to cover up the relative youth of the Malts used in this Blend. The Heavily Charred New French Oak tends to do the same. In the end I miss the Intensity and Depth that would come with a longer more natural cask maturation. Just imagine this blend if it would be bottled at around 15 Years. I think it would be a complete cracker! As it is, it' still good but considering its relative youth it's quite expensive at over a 100 US Dollars per bottle. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                    April 16, 2015

Great King St. Artist's Blend Review

“She Blended Me With Science” 

Country: Scotland

Brand: Great King St. Artist's Blend

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS

ABV: 43 %

Date: 25/03/2014

Colour: Hay/Pale Gold

Nose: Quite Subdued but Clean. Not bad but not extremely interesting as well. I find Grain, Oak, Straw, Alcohol, Vanilla, Nuts and Nut Shells, Dried Apricot, Toast with a Mixture of Butter and Margarine, Bread Dough, light Citrus and hints of Banana, Apple, Coconut, Sweet Marzipan and Spices.

Taste: Slightly Thin and Bitter-Sweet with Grain, Alcohol, Dried Fruits, Nuts, Coconut, Lemon, light Orange, light Vanilla, Marzipan, Bitter Oak, Pepper, Nutmeg and Cinnamon.

Finish: Middle-Long and Bitter-Sweet with Sugared Almonds, Bitter Oak, Lemon, Pepper, Nutmeg, light Vanilla and a hint of Green Apples.

No need to add Water to this Blend. You will basically enhance the Grains that way.

Rating: 76.5 

Nose: 19.5 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19

General Remarks: The Great King St. Blended Whisky line is named after the street in Edinburgh where the office of The Compass Box Whisky Company is located since John Glaser founded the company in 2000. The idea behind Compass Box is to make quality Scotch relevant to as many people as possible and to revive Blended Scotch Whisky. The Artist's Blend is a combination of 46% of Lowland Single Grain Whisky that matured in First Fill American Oak Barrels and 54% Single Malt Whiskies (2 Northern Highland - and 1 Speyside Distillery), matured in a mix of First Fill American Oak (66%), First Fill European Oak Ex-Sherry Casks (8%) and Heavily Toasted New French Oak Heads (26%). The Artist's Blend is naturally coloured and Chill-Filtration was not applied. The Blend is priced at 40/45 US Dollars. The Presentation of this Blend is quite nice.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: Good but there's room for improvement. This Blend is getting some positive Vibes so I was really curious. Let's start with the good news. The Artist's Blend is naturally coloured, is bottled without Chill-Filtration and at an adequate ABV of 43%. The presentation is quite nice and John Glaser tells you exactly what's in the blend and what Wood was used. Few bottlers and distillers have the courage to do that. It's also reasonably priced given the higher than average Malt content. But on the other hand the Great King Street, while certainly not bad, is still not quite interesting enough to really revive my interest in Blended Scotch, although it is better than most of the well-known affordable Blends. I do believe that Jim is on the right track but I feel that stronger Single Malts are necessary to elevate the Artist's Blend to a higher level. Still too much of a Grain Alcohol feel. There are people who like that but I'm not one of them. I am curious though to try out the two new Experimental Expressions TR6 (Peat) and TR4 (Sherry). Will try to get samples!

Footnote: "She Blinded Me With Science" was a Hit Record for British Singer Thomas Dolby in 1982.

Jan van den Ende                                                              March 2014