A medley of marvellous malts make up Menagerie, a cracking Compass Box blended malt Scotch whisky! Within this expression are whiskies from Mortlach, Deanston, Glen Elgin, and Laphroaig, as well as a Highland malt blend that has aged in custom French oak casks. The label features all sorts of wonderful animals upon it, including some birds that would certainly make any ornithologist's day to see them.
Earthy peat with a hint of tarry rope tucked away, cooked orchard fruit, a whiff of damp oak and petrichor.
More forest floor notes on the palate, now with layers of honeyed barley and tangy tropical fruit for balance. Smoke surrounds it all, plus a hint of new leather.
Meaty malt, dried mango, a final waft of subtly spicy smoke.
A good whisky, but the Laphroaig utterly dominates this vatting, even though it only makes up 5% of the total volume. There are some nice sherry notes to be sure, but they just can't compete with the smoke. Being Compass Box I had hoped for something more.
