Compass Box KWM 30th Anniversary
Kensington Wine Market Pick | 49% ABV
Whisky Regrets
Yup, I got bit by the whisky regret bug. It wasn’t the FOMO regret bug for I had pulled the trigger and purchased this Compass Box blended malt made for the 30th anniversary of Kensington Wine Market when it was first released. The regret came in later when upon popping the cork and discovering the liquid inside was gorgeous, I went to purchase a backup bottle only to find that they had all been sold.
Kensington Wine Market (KWM) is a local brick-and-mortar specialty wine and whisky store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with an exceptional online storefront as well. It’s owner, Andrew Ferguson, is a Keeper of the Quaich and is quite active in the local whisky scene by holding stellar whisky tastings, including hosting epic old and rare lineups for quite an objective bargain. For the sole reason that he wants to try these old & rare bottles himself and have others share in the experience.
Andrew also has well-established relationships with blenders and distilleries and has established himself as a stickler on quality. If KWM is going to release an exclusive blend or single cask and stick their name on it, you can bet the juice inside has met a high standard for the price. In my opinion, this KWM exclusive Compass Box blend is no exception. I fully plan on sitting down with Andrew in 2024 to get some insights unique to a specialty whisky store so stay tuned for that feature piece.
I’ll admit I didn’t have an epic lead up or intro to this whisky. It’s very enjoyable but wasn’t something that had an emotional story or aspect because I bought it to drink and enjoy… that is until I was perusing Scotch Whisky Auction’s website some time ago. I’ve got Compass Box’s No Name 2 and 3 (yet to be popped and slated for an upcoming review) and sometimes keep my eye on Compass Box listings for the original No Name. Unfortunately for me, these have been going exorbitantly high and thus I have yet to complete the trio.
So where’s the regret angle? I had accepted my loss and regret that I wouldn’t get a backup bottle to mine and I should ration myself accordingly but then I came across this same KWM 30th Anniversary blend on the auction site. I kept a keen eye on it, wondering what prices it would fetch after someone took the time to mule it across to the UK and put them up for auction. Maybe I would get my missing backup bottle for roughly the same price as if I bought it here and after shipping it all the way back to me. For more info on international whisky auctions and how to determine the final price of a bottle, I wrote a feature piece that you may want to check out.
Fast forward a week and with the the lots closing in on the waning hours of action, I peaked at the price of this delectable blend. Needless to say, my jaw hit the floor. Closing in on sub-£300 for that particular auction, I felt my ire rising. Being mostly of Norse descent, I have a tendency to see red quite quickly if I’m rubbed up the wrong way, and I felt my blood pressure and rage rising at a pace that would make Bruce Banner and the Hulk proud when seeing the final auction price.
My rage was not directed towards the buyer, for they were purchasing this for what they thought it was worth and considering it was a Canada only release, perhaps the only way they could try this whisky was through the auction. No, it most definitely wasn’t the buyer that was going to be the brunt of Broddy’s rage, much like Kratos going spartan rage on some unfortunate draugr, I was laser focussed on the seller. They had purchased this limited edition whisky and muled it some 6,000 km for the sole purpose of selling it for a profit. That rage was multiplied when I dug a little deeper and noticed that a few other bottles had been misappropriated before this particular auction caught my attention. Oh boy, was I in a foul mood.
As of writing this review in the last vestiges of 2023, a total of 12 bottles (2%) of the 588 bottle outturn have been moved from my local market to UK auctions, averaging £220 thus far. Given the approximate £115 purchase price, the flipper has nearly doubled their money on each bottle which sounds great until you factor in that 12 people have been correspondingly been deprived of a unique experience.
I understand it is hard to put a price on such things but it is a bummer when flippers get in the way. For my part, and being completely objective, I was buying it as a backup bottle which should earn some of your ire for I would be taking one of those 12 bottles away from someone else. However there’s a caveat. I have already shared out a third of my current bottle with plans of hosting a small tasting with friends to show the effect of decaying peat and blending on the final whisky flavours.
Given the distinct older Ardbeg and Caol Ila angle to this whisky, starting with the Wee Beastie or 10yo is a great comparator to the older Ardbeg whisky in this blend. So yes, I was going to hog another bottle for myself but it was going to be for a good purpose after I will have nearly rinsed my only bottle. C'est la vie.
Scotch Whisky Auctions Price history for CB KWM 30th
However, it doesn’t take a data analysis expert to witness a recent decline in auction prices for this release, nearing the RRP for the most recent auctions which featured this bottle. That bodes well for more people to get their hands on this delicious and very limited release blended malt; assuming more bottles have made their way across the Atlantic.
Correlating with what I feel to be a general cooling off of prices in general and a return to a more sane plane of secondary values, I’m excited that things are returning to something more normal. But, given the auction fees, currency conversion fees, and shipping prices, for me or others in Canada to obtain this bottle for the original RRP, auction prices will need to hit closer to £70.
While there’s hope given this downward trend, I would imagine a savvy flipper would hold onto any remaining bottles in the hopes of an upward trend in the future. That being said, I’ll be continually checking, and crossing my fingers.
Alrighty, enough of reductive reasoning of my rage and lamenting my loss and others in my local market, let’s dive into the technical bits and bobs of this non-age stated (NAS) Compass Box blended malt.
Review 1/2 - Broddy
Compass Box, Kensington Wine Market 30th Anniversary Bottling, 49% ABV
CAD$195 (£115) paid
I love any blender who’s willing to publish their recipe, and Compass Box is no exception!
37% 20 year old Caol Ila from refill ex-Bourbon barrel
30% 20 year old Teaninich from first fill ex-Bourbon barrel
23% 19 year old Mortlach from re-charred ex-Bourbon barrel
10% 17 year old Ardbeg from re-charred ex-Bourbon barrel
Reportedly at the time of blending, one of the components (we don’t know which one) couldn’t be added at the original recipe ratios (above). Given these issues, James Saxton tweaked the original recipe back on track so the above ratios are close but not exact. The origin of the Ardbeg is actually the remnants of the parcel of Ardbeg used to create the original incarnation of the Compass Box No Name!
Regardless, this is composed of some beautiful older whiskies and it shows.
Nose
Bright, fresh, fruity, and a light clean spine of smoke tying everything together. Brilliantly balanced.
Lightly malty. Creamed honey. Fresh ripe peaches. Dried apricots. French vanilla. Distant dry peat and driftwood fire on the beach with the salt breeze blowing in your face. Lovely partially decayed phenols from the peat lessens their harshness while amping up the fruitiness. While I don’t mind the punch to the face that young peated whiskies often possess, older peated whiskies are just elegant.
With a splash of water, some bright citrus and clean spearmint pop up while the phenolic peat is decreased.
For what it’s worth, I could smell the empty glass for hours. Candied lemon peel, clover honey, and salty capers atop a vanilla pastry whilst a far away wood-fire provides the ambiance. Delish.
Palate
Every time I pour myself a dram of this, my body unconsciously relaxes and sinks into the chair. It’s so gently and robustly flavoured that it’s easy to keep drinking and begin forgetting our daily stresses.
Lightly wood-smoked pepper bacon (the homemade kind, not the sickly sweet mass produced stuff). Creamy vanilla oats. Ripe peaches. Candied lemon and orange peel. Cinnamon red apple danish drizzled with white chocolate ribbons.
The mouthfeel is slightly waxy, with bright citrus and the clean woody and slightly ashy smoke providing a lengthy and pleasantly clingy finish. My mouth salivates after every sip!
With water, the umami-like bacon notes are gone, replaced with a touch of clean spearmint (not green or vegetal). The smoke and other notes are dialled down as well. Personally, drink this at the already optimised bottling strength.
The Dregs
Now for the score and my reasonings. This is a solid 8.5-8.7 whisky without considering the price. If we consider the price against the age of the components and the distilleries present in this blend, it’s somewhat of a bargain. With price in mind, I’ve rounded the score down.
Do I have some minor gripes? Sure. I would have loved to sample this at 53-55 %ABV (my personal sweet spot) but perhaps it wouldn’t have been this good and my haphazard dilution would have made hitting this very lovely 49 %ABV a sure miss. Outside of this very subjective niggle, which is a Broddy-only nitpick, it’s a lovely whisky. Lovely enough that I thought I would toss a sample to Aengus for his cold-eyes thoughts on this blended malt.
“Damn this kwm blend is goooood” [yes, there were 5 o’s!-BB]
-Aengus McCloud via DM upon popping the sample bottle
There’s a short overview video from KWM’s YouTube channel you can watch here.
Score: 8/10
Review 2/2 - Aengus
Compass Box, Kensington Wine Market 30th Anniversary Bottling, 49% ABV
CAD$195 (£115) paid
Thanks to Broddy for the generous sample.
Nose
Savoury nose, mushrooms, greasy pizza. Chili oil, Thai sweet chilli sauce, pickled banana peppers. Bright with an Islay Iodine style peat.
Palate
Wow! Hits the palate with unexpected flavour. Floral and fresh, it migrates quickly to the back of the throat. Lavender perfume, potpourri, cigar ash, lemon pepper. The very long finish leaves a lingering sweetness - pastel de nata.
The Dregs
Thanks Broddy for the sample of this awesome whisky. It’s something special to be able to taste whiskies of this age and provenance mingled together in a one-off celebratory blend.
I found the nose to lean more towards the savoury side, while the palate was more floral. Very interesting and satisfying, it demands attention. The ABV is perfect and I’m glad there’s no sherry influence here to muddy things up. An easy 8, if only I could get a bottle.
Score: 8/10 AMc
Afternoon EDIT: The contributory notes from Aengus were added after Wally spotted he’d spilled them over the desk and forgot about them.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB