Compass Box No Name No. 3

Review by: The Muskox

This is the latest in Compass Box’s series of “No Name” blends, which have all been very peat-forward. Each one has followed the same formula but featured a different set of distilleries: The original was mostly teenage Ardbeg with a splash of Caol Ila, No Name No. 2 was mostly teenage Caol Ila with a splash of Talisker, and this latest batch is mostly teenage Laphroaig with a splash of Bowmore.

This whisky is a blend of:

  • 74.7% 15-year-old Laphroaig, matured in recharred hogsheads
  • 11.3% 18-year-old Bowmore, matured in refill bourbon barrels
  • 7.5% 18-year-old Mortlach, matured in recharred barrels
  • 6% 17-year-old Clynelish, matured in refill sherry butts
  • 0.5% 13-year-old Highland Malt blend (60% Clynelish, 20% Teaninich, 20% Dailuaine), matured in custom heavy-toast French Oak barrels.

Distillery: Various.

Bottler: Compass Box.

Region: Blend.

ABV: 48.9%.

Age: 13-18 years.

Cask type: Various.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Light gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Cool medicinal peat smoke. Iodine and bandaids. Soft lychee, dried pear, apricot, orange peel. Salted cashews and French biscuits with chocolate. There’s a creaminess, almost a soft cheese. Soft herbs – thyme, basil, mint, parsley. Maybe vaguely beeswaxy? Yeah, beeswaxed boards. A little sandalwood, vanilla, and nutmeg.

Palate: Medium-light texture. Arrives herbal and seaweedy, along with soft green tropical fruit like guava and key lime. Some rich maltiness. Develops medicinal first, the gets sweeter, floral, and fragrant, with that characteristic (to me at least) Bowmore green tea note emerging. Coastal mud, salty sea spray, and medicinal smoke. Deep inside is a subtle meaty sweet-savouriness, some kind of stewed pork with chilis? Distant campfire fading into dark chocolate and mango. Interesting spice notes of clove and cardamom.

Finish: Medium-length, slightly tannic. Smooth smoke. Mango. Basil. Chocolate. Herbal-savoury, maybe caraway. Seaweed. Marble rye. Burning spruce boughs and wet grass. More cardamom. Hot asphalt. Sea salt.

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Morbo demands more Bowmore”

Conclusion: Delicious, and not what I expected. That 11.3% of Bowmore in there seems to be hogging the spotlight from the Laphroaig! Fine with me, as I’m very partial to the old, soft, tropical Bowmore flavours that are pervasive in this whisky. The extent of the Laphroaig, from my taste at least, seems to be limited to an undercurrent of medicinal bitterness and green apple. I think this is my favourite No Name yet, perfect for a warm rainy spring day like today.

Final Score: 87.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

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