Review #44 - Compass Box The Peat Monster

Peaty Blends Mini-Series: Part 3 of 3

The last review in this mini-series, and it's another blended malt - why didn't we just specify that from the start? Probably would have helped if we had noticed the trend. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

Here we have The Peat Monster by Compass box; it's a blend of Caol Ila and Laphroaig, two of the most well know heavily peated Islay distilleries, and also probably the two Islay distilleries that send the most whisky to independent bottlers and blenders.

Compass Box has made quite a name for themselves over the last ten to twenty years with their intriguing blends, interesting aging techniques, and a premium pricing placement. They're one of the go to brands for solid blended malts, peated or otherwise; they release numerous collectible special editions as well, and have quite a large portfolio of blends to pick from. Will this one live up to their name, along with the distilleries it originates from?

Compass Box The Peat Monster

Scotland - Blend

Current Locally Available Price: USD 61 (2023)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 46% ABV

Details: Blend of Laphroaig and Caol Ila; non chill filtered and no color added

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 90% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Strong damp green peat up front, along with a little bit of charcoal, though it really isn't too ashy. There is some earth or petrichor, and a hint of green vegetation. Wood tones arrive in the fashion of pepper, along with a very milk oak taste, and there is a hint of lemon here as well. Hard to pick out more distinct notes after that - it's extremely cohesive, maybe even too much.

Palate: The palate is more peppery than the nose, both in terms of white pepper, as well as a bit of bell pepper. Medium peat level to go along with the medium thickness mouthfeel, and it's a little buttery as well, along with some mild vanilla. It's very 'blendy' again, as obvious as that sounds - 'smooth' despite the peat, and very rounded overall. There is a hint of citrus from lemon and orange, and at the end, a bit of wood char.

Finish: Heather and hay, a bit like a grassy field that is flowering; sweet honey, and the peat that lingers is mild now. It's a medium length finish overall. A little more pepper here and there, and at the very end, a touch of perfume.

Final Note: This is a decent blended malt, but we can't help but come back to the feeling we got on the nose - this is so cohesive, it can actually be a little boring. Maybe it's a sign of a brilliant blender when multiple single malts can be combined so smoothly, but it also cuts out a lot of the fun of finding unique and more challenging flavors that single malts generally deliver. A decent introduction to peated whisky, but still not quite delivering the power of those classic Islay bottles.

Our Average Rating: 6.0 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.10