I love this time of year because it means, without fail, that a myriad of Scotch come in for me to taste. This year started out with a blending seminar with Johnnie Walker for their Black Label and has since been infused with some fascinating boutique Scotches. Two (okay, it's more like four) have made my new favorites list, one being a seasonal release turned non-seasonal and the other three special editions that you have to fly to find - and I will be looking for them on my next adventure.
The first Scotch that I speak of is not technically a Scotch because it uses an infusion to distinguish itself from other whiskies in the category. That would be the Orangerie from Compass Box. You may vaguely recall this one from a few years ago as a bottle that could only be found during the holiday season, but the great news is that it is back in all its respectable spectacle and it's here to stay (okay, at least that's the word for now). Like all of the other specialty blends that Compass Box produces, this one is not the average Scotch that can be described by words like "peaty," "smoky," or "sweet" - instead this is an infusion of orange, clove and cassia bark with those flavors being prominent as opposed to "notes" that are faintly detectable. Christmas in a glass, Orangerie is that simple.
The other Scotch that has fancied my palate lately is from The Macallan 1824 Collection and I had the chance to sample three of the four bottlings. For me the winner of the collection has to be the Estate Reserve if you are looking for a Scotch to sip because it has in intensity I really enjoy in this style of whisky. Yet, if mixing Scotch is more your style of the moment, I would go with the Select Oak because it is reasonably priced and has a nice balance of sweet, spice and oak. The other offering, the Whisky Maker's Edition, is somewhere between the two, but has its own unique characteristics. The downfall to this announcement is that the 1824 Collection is only available in "Global Travel Retail" markets, meaning that you can't hop down to the local liquor store in hopes of scoring a bottle, but have to go to one at a major airport in hopes of coming across a bottle.
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