Stranger & Stranger Blended Whisky Review & Tasting Notes

 

 This review was originally published on July 25, 2019, at Bourbon & Banter.

BOTTLE DETAILS

• DISTILLER: Compass Box Whisky
• MASH BILL:  A blend of Scotch Malted Whisky with Wheat & Barley Spirit
• AGE:   NAS - No Age Statement
• YEAR: 2019
• PROOF: 46% ABV (92-Proof)
• MSRP: $200.00

 

NOSE: Heavy Apple  |  Vanilla  |  Apple Cider

 

TASTE: Apple  |  Clove  |  Vanilla  |  White Pepper

 

FINISH: Long and spicy with white pepper

 

SHARE WITH: Scotch fans who aren’t purists and are willing to try something different.

 

WORTH THE PRICE: While decent, charging $200 for a Scottish whisky that can’t even legally be called Scotch is questionable.

 

BOTTLE, BAR, OR BUST:  I rated this as a Bar primarily due to the price.

 

OVERALL: I’ve enjoyed many releases of Compass Box, and, pardon the pun, they’re very much an outside-the-box distillery, and they are about as transparent as a distillery will get. Due to their creativity, some of their releases can be pricey. But the big question is: Is Stranger & Stranger worth $200.00? I don’t think so.

 

Stranger & Stranger is a blend of 80% Glenlossie malt aged in re-charred hogsheads, 14% Glen Elgin malt aged in re-charred barrels, 5% Linkwood malt aged in sherry butts, and 1% Girvan grain spirit aged for a year in refilled hogsheads. The latter spirit was first aged for a year in American oak and then transferred to the used hogshead. Compass Box calls this a sacrificial spirit because it prevents this whisky from being classified as Scotch, as it is less than three years old.

 

Stranger & Stranger is non-chill filtered and has no artificial coloring (caramel coloring is allowed with Scotch whisky). There were 4802 bottles produced.

 

I tried Stranger & Stranger, both neat and with a few drops of water. The only thing that water added was to bring out a saline quality on the nose and added length to the peppery finish.

 

I did enjoy Stranger & Stranger but didn’t enjoy it for $200.00. I love to #DrinkCurious and do not classify myself as a Scotch purist. I’m interested in the end result. Even if no sacrificial spirit blended in, I’d still not rate this as a $200.00 worthy purchase. It is nice and interesting in a good way, but it is also overpriced.

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.