Compass Box The Last Vatted Malt

I will end my little line up of Compass Box with one that appeared several years ago. When the Scotch Whisky Association decided that the term Vatted Malt would become illegal as of 23 November 2011 (to be replaced by Blended Malt), John Glaser and his team bottled this Last Vatted Malt on 22 November 2011 around midnight in front of Big Ben in London. Rather symbolic and good PR. It is composed of 22% Glenallachie 36 year old 1974 on sherry (some say Aberlour, but that is mistaken – the official blurb says ‘the youngest of two distilleries in Aberlour’ which is Glenallachie, founded in 1967 while Aberlour itself has been around since 1827) and 78% of Caol Ila 26 year old 1984 (‘the Islay distillery in Port Askaig’ according to the same blurb) on bourbon cask.

Well, the nose is very interesting indeed. While the Caol Ila takes care of a coastal jacket with a touch of salt and moss, it’s the roasted malt and orange marmalade and all kinds of red berries, brown sugar, toffee and marzipan that attract all the attention. Pipe tobacco! But the longer you wait, the more the CaolIla shines through. I can easily smell this for fifteen minutes.

Perfect arrival, spicy and peaty with loads of citrus. Caol Ila takes over. Graphite. Hints of ashes, earth and sweet peat. Olive oil. Cardemom. Cinnamon. Oak. The whole is wrapped in a blanket of red fruit. The second wave contains dark chocolate, orange peel, raisins and dades Hint of coconut and chicory.

The finish is long and dry, making a perfect pas-de-deux between the peat and the sherry.

Oh, crap, another blend that scores a 90. We shall not make this a habit. At the same time, the Last Vatted Grain was bottled as well, but I have not yet had the fortune to try it. This blend can still be found, but will set you back around 200 EUR or more.

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