Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana

About the Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana

Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana is a blended malt Scotch whisky from Scotland, released in 2020. The blenders put it out as a limited edition for their twentieth birthday. Arcana means hidden things, and that is exactly the point. It sits at 46% alcohol, with no colouring and no chill filtration. Three peated single malts sit behind it. Smoke runs through the whole glass, but it never shouts. Compass Box does not run stills. It blends malt whisky bought from Scottish distilleries. Founder John Glaser had been experimenting with custom French oak since the company's early days. His team eventually filled three of those custom French oak casks with cask-strength Peat Monster. The whisky stayed there for more than two years. It came out richly spicy and, strangely, more subtly smoky than it went in. Peat reek arrives first, wrapped in honey and something grassy. Citrus and vanilla follow, with a menthol coolness behind them. The palate turns creamy, then medicinal, with a salt tang and cold ash. Tobacco and spice sit underneath. Ardbeg's share pushes a tarry, chocolatey edge into that smoke. Ginger and oak carry the finish, joined by stewed tea and lemon. An earthy note lingers longest, dry rather than sweet. Arcana is a detour from the regular Peat Monster, not a replacement. The change came from wood, not from more peat. Talisker malt makes up most of the blend, bringing honey and log-fire embers. Miltonduff heightens the creaminess and a perfumed, citrusy sweetness. Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana was a limited edition, released in October 2020. Served neat, the spice and dry peat show at their most intense.