LeeEvolved
Compass Box Phenomenology
Blended Malt — Scotland
Reviewed
February 22, 2018 (edited September 10, 2018)
I’ve been working my way through this bottle for the past 8-10 weeks and I just recently finished it, while finally getting some thoughts together about it. This bottle was released simultaneously with the peated, No Name. That bottle was CBW’s heaviest peated whisky to date and it cracked my Top 6 whiskies of all time. So, I really had high hopes for this one, too.
First off, let’s go over what went into this blend. Now for starters, John Glaser and CBW pride themselves on transparency when it comes to what they put in every bottle, but this time around they played their cards a little closer to the vest until well after the release. They wanted people to judge it on flavor alone and asked drinkers to guess what they thought was in the bottle. A bit of a change for them, but that was kind of cool. I guess it was late December/early January before they released the make-up: Phenomenology is 72% Glenlossie (recharred hogshead), 24.5% Tamdhu (first fill oak), 2% Highland Park (recharred oak), 1% Talisker (refilled white oak) and 0.5% Caol Ila (hogshead). So they are expecting sweet, Speyside style whisky with a hint of smoke. Sounds nice.
The color is yellow gold and it’s quite oily in the Glencairn. It makes some slow forming legs while leaving behind small droplets near the rim. This hits the ABV sweet spot at 46%.
The nose is semi-complex: berries, orchard fruits, bananas all dominate the opening before yielding to what I’d describe as a candle shop. The smoke comes and goes when you put your nose down in it. One minute it’s there, the next it’s gone. It’s a bit frustrating, but looking at the low percentages of peated stock I guess it’s understandable.
The palate feels very waxy initially. Almost like you’re rolling melted candle wax around on your tongue. It’s intriguing, but the wax flavor tends to keep the fruity notes from making a statement. Mid-sip I got a nice spice hit and some ginger snap cookies before it turned towards a traditional whisky with oak tannins and vanilla. It’s surprisingly complex, but that waxy texture and note keeps things too separate IMO.
The finish is medium length and oily with some nice florals mixing in- where did they come from? The waxy aspect is completely gone, which is great and the final bits are warming and welcome. It doesn’t linger too long and it doesn’t finish dry at all. All pluses here.
Overall, I’m a bit more mixed than I expected or wanted to be. The waxy bits and lack of distinct smoke bring the score down, but the complex palate and nice finish raise it up. It’s better than a middle of the road blend, but it’s not a top tier dram like I’ve come to expect from Compass Box. This bottle has slightly risen in price as well, and now fetches $175-199 US and that’s a bit too high for something that doesn’t reach 5 star level for me. As it is, it’s a solid 4 with maybe a slight dip because of price. Cheers, my friends.
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@PBMichiganWolverine - funny you should mention milk thistle- I’ve been taking it 3x a day for the last 3-4 months. I just hope it works like they say it does because then I’ll be able to DRINK, FOREVER!!! 🤣
@SolanaRoots. Yeah...unfortunately that is how you build up to 500 bottles, have all of them then kicked out relegated to a storage locker, and get imposed a 400% “ home import tax” on any new purchase
And @PBMichiganWolverine - your reviews are crucial too because it seems like you’ve tried absolutely everything!
@LeeEvolved sounds like you need to quit your day job and start writing. ( buy some milk thistle herb along the way too )😊
Yeah @LeeEvolved - your reviews help to inform my buying decisions so the request line was just me saying I wished you reviewed every single Distiller entry :)
@SolanaRoots - thanks for the compliment. This comes easily because I’m pretty passionate about it. I’ll take requests (especially if I’m sent the sample to review). Lol. I actually have a ton of unopened bottles, I’m just wrapped up in the distillery tour so I don’t want to open a bunch of bottles when I’ve got 15-20 samples from friends sitting on the counter that I need to drink and review. Once this experiment is over I plan on opening quite a few of my nicer bottles.
Top review as per usual - in a sea of great reviewers on this site, you’re my fave. Incredibly insightful. Sometimes I wish you took review requests :) - cheers @LeeEvolved
@Rick_M I’ve been meaning to learn golf. Never played it. I was a wide receiver and first singles tennis player in high school, but now am relegated to a shuffler ( i shuffle one of the two kids from piano to swimming to tae Kwon do).
@PBMichiganWolverine @LeeEvolved - I envy the people that get to be here longer than me. If you’re a golfer, Naples is the prelude to heaven. Over 100 courses. :)
@LeeEvolved @Rick_M. I’m in Florida in February currently...anything but golf. Business meetings back to back. Rick...I envy you
Playing or practicing every day. Doesn’t get any better than that. Of course, my back hates me right now. :)
Oh yeah, @Rick_M - what are you doing on Distiller right now anyways? Shouldn’t you be following the guys around the course at the Honda Classic? I mean, why else be in Florida in February if it isn’t to play golf and follow the Tour... ⛳️......................🏌️♀️
@Rick_M - yeah, I kept going back to this bottle so many times just looking for something I can exactly describe. That waxy mouthfeel just messed with my head and never disappeared, even with time. It’s a fine whisky, with one of the best finishes I think I’ve ever experienced in a Compass Box, but that wax really kept it from being a 5 star for me. No Name, on the other hand, was right in my wheelhouse. Fruit depth and plenty of smoke were near perfection. Oh well, they all can’t be everything to everybody- unless it’s a port finished Laphroaig....😀
I rated both this and No Name at 5 stars, but actually liked this one slightly better. Something about the varnish/old wood in the nose and complexity that appealed. Also, most viscous whisky I’ve ever had.