Compass Box No Name

Peaty, balanced, amazing

Love love love! This might be the best whiskey I have ever had. Balanced peaty flavor with a wonderful body.

Second bottle of this. Nose - Medicinal, sweet, puffy sweet smoke. I might get a caramel or chocolate at the very back end. it's a good peated note, but nothing special. Taste - The finish is awesome, tooties rolls, oak, and creme brulee. Sorry i had to jump there. The opening is a bit medicinal, slightly metallic, there's a buttery creamy sweetness. It's a lot more mellow and sweet than a normal ardbeg with their intense punch you in the face peat. This blend has calmed things down and added more sweet and savory notes. I'm really digging it. 3.5. It's not going to change your life or move the needle, but it's well worth chasing down if you like peat. Maybe a bit over priced though.

So this essentially Ardbeg dominated blend is supposed to be better than any of the readily available Ardbeg releases, yeah? Well, let me tell you it’s not. It’s more of an Ardbeg for bourbon drinkers with the sweetness taking over and the peat only really coming in at the finish. I get why it’s good, it’s a good blend, but in my opinion Compass Box is like Johnnie Walker with nice labels. It’s more about style than substance. Of course they’re blending good whiskies so it tastes good, but those whiskies didn’t need to be blended in the first place. 92

Okay so this might be the best whisky that I have ever had! It is like sitting in my favorite leather recliner while smoking a brisket with a peppery rub while eating one of those orange flavored dark chocolate bars!

I'm a sucker for Compass Box and their beautiful presentation and this one, with it's all-black mysterious outfit, replete with runes and a wax seal sold the inner romantic in me. Nose: Huge whiff of smoke akin to if you decided to douse the campfire with water at the end of the night because you're a headcase and wouldn't be able to sleep at night if you didn't. Salty sea-breeze air, tarmac, seaweed, cereal, and hints of lemon/lime trying to poke through...maybe some vanilla. Palate: Right off the bat the sweet medicinal notes hit you, band-aids, rubber, tarmac, bigtime liquorice, cacao, citrus notes along the lines of grapefruit, a touch nutty Mouthfeel isn't big and chewy as would be expected but medium-bodied, velvety and a bit oily. Finish: Billowing smoke, leathery, peppery, very salty and huge liquorice in your face. It reminds me of a certain liquorice that a friend from Sweden sent to me about 10 years ago that I absolutely loved; salmiac liquorice. Coffee, band-aids...it just keeps going and going. Upon my first dram of this whisky, I was completely enamored and had to go back to the store to grab another couple bottles because when it's gone, it's gone. I could sit back and savor a single dram of this for a good hour or two, picking apart all of the nuances. It's dirty and aggressive yet elegant and sophisticated. A paradoxical, beautiful blended whisky and at the top of the list of "Islay-themed" whiskies that I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.