Review by: dustbunna

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Distillery: Multiple.

Bottler: Compass Box.

Region: Blended malt.

ABV: 46%.

Age: NAS but components 10-18 years old. Bottled in 2018.

Cask type: Vatting of refill and recharred hogsheads with first-fill and refill sherry butts:

• 34% 18yr Balmenach (refill hhds)
• 20% 17yr Clynelish (recharred hhds)
• 10% 15yr Clynelish (refill sherry butts)
• 2% 17yr Glendullan (ff sherry butts)
• 34% 10yr Strathmill (refill hhds)

Price: $110 USD for 750mL.

Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Bottle open across approx. 5 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, no significant changes at the heel.

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Nose: canned peaches and pears, pear skins, malt, lemon zest, minerals, red apples, malted chocolate, rose petals, lemon drop candy.

Palate: more peaches and pears, white chocolate, cereals, red apple skins, minerals, cotton candy in the background.

Finish: medium length ~ drying tannins up front, more minerals, peach Gummi-O candies, wet grass, a savory note on the tail end.

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Conclusion: This is pretty good! Very light and Speyside-reminiscent, which makes some sense. The peach/pear core works well with hints of minerals, grasses, flowers there to give it a touch more nuance. I suppose with so much Balmenach in the mix I expected more of a worm-tubby dimension to it, but it’s still very sippable and enjoyable. The price I paid is pretty good these days for the age of the components, but maybe a tad high for what one gets flavor-wise (which is a cheeky way of saying it drinks younger than I think it should… maybe the Strathmill is leading the charge.) As a one-off Compass Box from a while back, it’s not particularly easy to find in the wild at this point—not a repeat buy for me, but still fun to try.

Final Score: 83.

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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.