Compass Box Flaming Heart 6th Edition

 

 

 

48,9°

Distillery : Caol Ila, Clynelish, Deanston, Teaninich, Benrinnes, Allt-à-Bhainne, Glen Ord, Dailuaine - Islay, Highlands and Speyside

Refill Sherry Butt, French Oak Casks, Bourbon Hogsheads and Refill American Barrels

Independent Bottling 

By Compass Box 

Limited Edition 

Blended Malt 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured 

Peated around 20 ppm

The Flaming Heart was first produced in 2006 by John Glaser himself. It is a blend of Islay peat and Highland character, aged partly in French wine casks. It was an immediate success. Twelve years later, the sixth edition introduced a few sherry casks into an increasingly complex blend. A total of 15850 copies were produced.

Let's Taste It : 

Vanilla milk, coconut, mountain honey. The peat is resolutely behind, slightly smoky, with a few fishes. Iodine. Lime drizzle, sweet potatoes. Thick humidity, like before a storm. Then the fruits return, certainly the influence of the sherry casks, juicy pear, cranberries, melon, mashed banana, pomegranate seeds.
The palate is pearly, as fruity as ever, but more citrusy, with tangerines, lemon and a hint of grapefruit. Full-bodied spices, pepper, cardamom. Pear. The finish is a bit charcoaled, slightly aggressive and quite long, surfing on a slight acidity to plunge into orchard fruits and marshmallow. Light caramel, tamarind juice, waterlogged wood.

In Short, 

I'm slightly disappointed. Admittedly, it's very good, but I was expecting more from what I'd read here and there. It's not that peaty, and the blend seems too complex to be coherent. Lastly, it's too expensive for what it is, in my humble opinion.

Score : 88

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

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