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Day 20 - KWM 2024 This Is Not An Advent Calendar - Compass Box Flaming Heart 2022

Posted on December 20, 2024

Day 20 - Compass Box Flaming Heart 2022 Edition

by Evan

We have featured Compass Box quite a bit over the years in both whisky tastings and our prior decade plus of whisky calendars. Here is a short run-through what has appeared in calendars of yesteryear:

We are incredibly fortunately to have a lengthy history with Compass Box. In the past, the company has gifted Kensington Wine Market with bespoke blends for our store’s 25th and 30th anniversaries, as well as a quite a few single marrying casks from the Compass Box Great King Street series.

The bottle we will be tasting today is actually a special edition that was originally released in 2022. The reason it is still currently available is that Compass Box makes a good quantity of their limited editions when possible, and because the importer that brought it in luckily brought in a good amount of it. The fact that we still have enough to put it in the KWM Not An Advent Calendar is fortunate, because this bottle is a peat lover’s dream.

(Above: Link to a review of a trio of Compass Box Flaming Heart Editions by Whisky On The West Coast)

The 2022 Edition of Flaming Heart is the 7th Edition in the series, which itself dates back to 2006. Each edition in the series has been bottled at 48.9% or 49% ABV, and has focused on the interplay between peat smoke and French Oak. That combination has made each release sought after by many whisky fans the world over. This series is also central to one of the run-ins Compass Box has been unlucky enough to have with the Scotch Whisky Association over the years.

The 5th release of Flaming heart, which was released in celebration of Compass Box’s 15th Anniversary in 2015, created a stir with the SWA because Compass box revealed the entire recipe — or makeup – of their blend on their website. The SWA told them that was a no-no, and that they were not allowed to disclose which distilleries’ whiskies were used or the specific age of each component in the blend. This greatly annoyed many a whisky geek, and the cries from our collective basements could be heard the world ‘round. At least that is how I remember it.

What was the result of all the hubbub? Well, you can still get a very detailed recipe for Compass Box releases like this one, but the specific age of the whisky is not given. Compass Box often gives a general age range for much of the components used, but does not go deeper than that.

Does the age bit really matter? Probably not. But why did a trade organization have to throw its weight around and deem that it should not be disclosed in the first place? Like much of the silliness that revolves around trade or government entities deciding what a small company can and cannot do when creating or releasing a product, it likely had less to do with any actual issue and more with to do with job justification than anything else. When you want to prove a point or pick on someone, it is best to go after an entity that doesn’t have the time or finances or connections to fight back, right?

Maybe I’d better just shut up before we have to change the packaging and name of our Not An Advent Calendar Tasting kits yet again.

Where was I? Ahh, yes. Let’s discuss the makeup of this edition of Flaming Heart and give it a taste!

Compass Box Flaming Heart 2022 – 48.9%

The 2022 (7th) Edition of Compass Box Flaming Heart has been built around powerful malts from Laphroaig, Caol Ia, and Talisker, tamed a bit with others from Glen Elgin, Balmenach, and Highland Park, and that's not all. This Blended Malt consists of a wide range of components including remnants from the 2018 Flaming Heart and Peat Monster Arcana. Bottled at 48.9%.

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Smoky incense and flaming orange peel, strawberry shortcake with a dollop of whipped cream, a café mocha, apple crumble, cinnamon buns, smoked paprika, seasoning salt, and a side of pork rinds.

Palate: More smoked paprika and seasoning salt, a bit of chalky minerality, plus sweet and salty barbecued prawns with a bit of chili sauce, peach and pear slices, a pinch of apple cider vinegar, and a few all-dressed potato chips.

Finish: Salty, spicy and smoky with an elegant creaminess and warmth on the way down.

Comment: So spicy and savoury, but with some fruit and a great creamy texture to balance it out. An absolutely fantastic dram.

Cheers,
Evan

Playing catch-up on our 2024 This Is Not An Advent Calendar?

You can find the rest of the blog posts here!

 

This entry was posted in Whisky, Tastings, Whisky Calendars, Tastings - Online Tasting, KWM 2024 Not An Advent Calendar Tastings

 

 

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