Compass Box Crimson Casks (70cl, 46%)

Crimson Casks is a blended malt from Compass Box, first released in 2024 and made under James Saxon. It combines malts from Glen Moray, Benrinnes and Teaninich with whisky from a distillery near Aberlour and a Highland malt blend. The maturation routes are varied: first-fill American oak butts that previously held Oloroso sherry, refill hogsheads followed by a year's finish in ex-red wine barriques, a heavily toasted French oak barrel and first-fill bourbon barrels. It is bottled at 46%, non-chill-filtered and without added colour. The nose brings rich chocolate cake with cloves and cardamom. The palate is soft and full, with plum jam, redcurrant, dark cherries and toffee, and the finish is long and sweet with raisins, honey and brown sugar.