Distillery: Compass Box

Product Line: -

Product: Canvas

Aged: Vino naranja and American oak

Category: Blended

Nose: Delicate custards and marmalade. A citrus of bitter sort, with under-ripe figs.

Body: Rich honey over apricots and oranges. A light, English muffin sort of biscuit. As it goes on, a rich dark chocolate encroaches.

Finish: A bold, malty surprise. Loses nearly all the delicate fruit notes in favor of wheats and grains and fresh baked bread.

Activation: Really opens up some of the rich juicy fruits. Oranges, grapes, pears. Recommended.

Notes: I’ve always been fond of Compass Box, but they went through a phase for a while where seemingly every new limited release was (over) aged in a sherry cask. I’m glad to announce that Canvas breaks this pattern- in fact, there’s no sherry here at all! Just some Spanish orange wine, a beverage I didn’t even know existed until I picked up this bottle. It’s sweet and rich and creamy and endlessly drinkable, without that bitter or medicinal quality that can frequently come through with sherried casks. After such a fruit forward body, the malted finish is a welcome surprise as well. One of the best blended malts I’ve had in a while, though it is on the pricier side at ~$135.