Compass Box No Name No. 3

Pale straw. The nose is a tad light and starts with red apples, tar and iodine. There’s a nice splash of bacon and brine, some hey and honey, tad of two-day-old campfire logs. The character is fairly soft but decidedly Frog-forward. Beyond the Frogy notes the peat actually has a nice, high alpha acid like character. It falls short of citrus and lands in sort of a floral range. Zing!! Wow - that is a bit fiery but vibrant. That acidic character does turn a bit more citrus on the palate and the tar and iodine come stomping along. Old campfire and floral peat compete and then fade slowly. No real surprises emerge. While not spicy per se there is a hearty warmth in the chest. The finish… tar, red apples again, oak, and almost a lemongrass/ginger note. Odd because going back to the glass there is some candied ginger on the nose. Definitely feel a bit of ginger spice (and alcohol) dancing on the top of the tongue in subsequent sips. Impression - delightful, tarry blend with some bright and borderline Thai spice notes. It’s a great twist on Laphroaig, however, I wouldn’t guess this is older than the 10 year base expression. I’m not savvy enough to cypher how the other components lend character but the fruits, acidity and spice are nice. It is less rich and malty than Corry, but with similar citrus notes. Bears some resemblance to PC 10 but more tar forward with some ginger thrown in. Definitely more aggressive than GW Green and with more distinct flavors. Now to the subject of bias. We all have our fair share. Mine is that Springbank 10 and Talisker 10 (and Glendronach 15, completely different but worth noting) could be the only scotches I ever drink again and I would be fine. I personally wish this blend had some additional brine and bacon. At $145 a bottle this will be my one and only but that’s because the heavy tar and Iodine of Laphroaig just aren’t my #1 jam - more like my #3 or #4 - when I can snatch up PC10, Talisker 10 and Springbank 10 for $60-100.

Quite nice. It’s mostly Frog so it’s ashy-smoky with some sweetness. Good flavor, but not overly aggressive. Maybe some pears/green apples. Thick mouthfeel. Long finish. Pretty easy drinking. edit: After trying this side-by-side with #1 and 2, this is a bit more disappointing than when I first opened it. I still enjoy it, but given how heavy handed the Laphroaig is, a friend asked: 'why wouldn't you just get a bottle of Laphroaig?' and, given the price, I find myself wondering the same thing.

This is coming to the channel hopefully sooner than later, but Mike's taking his time so lets just spoil this a bit. So this is mostly 15 year laphroiag bottled at near 50%. Do I even need to review it? Nose - Iodine forward smoke with this mix of sherry and funky oak and weird malt notes. Digging deeper there's spearmint. There's gasoline and there's oak. Under that lemon and lime come out, lightly smoked but still wet inside. Taste - This is medium to high viscosity and that creates this amazingly oily whisky experience. Laphroaig and bowmore and clynelish are all just playing together like best friends. Heavy smoke from campfire to medicinal to smoked BBQ to just smoked wood fire stove. It's wonderfully clean and also dirty. There's citrus and vanilla and creamer for your coffee. There's mint and smoke and citrus and so many wonderful notes. This is an amazing pour and I'm buying another one tomorrow. This is hands down the best compass box since tobias and when you factor in price, it's the best in a long time. I might have to compare this to flaming heart 2015. But to be fair, it's so much bigger and bolder and more creamy and just the mouth feel here is amazing. Score is between a 3.75 and a 4.0. I'm going to score this 3.75 but I'm thinking I"m letting the price influence me. This might be a 4. Buy a case. That's my review.

Red velvet cake, elegant flowers, red gummies, cinnamon hearts, chili peppers, creamed nuts, sea salt, menthol, medicine, burning plastic, and slightly pre-chewed pink bubblegum. 89/100