Compass Box - The Lost Blend - Tasting Notes

The Lost Blend of the Compass Box is something we were looking forward to tasting after hearing this:

In 2001, we created our first single malt blend which  we called Eleuthera. It was an elegant and simple blend of approximately 80% unpeated Highland and 20% peaty Islay single malts. Alas, after 3 years, we were suddenly no longer able to obtain one of the key whiskies required for the recipe so, sadly, we retired Eleuthera in 2004. Quietly, I have always been looking for whiskies that we could use to bring it back, even if temporarily, but not with any luck. Until now.

And we liked that one very much, so you can imagine us wanting to try this out for sure! Compass Box was very kind to send us a sample of "The Lost Blend" to try out in our explorations and compare it to the notes made on the Eleuthera. There are 12018 bottles of this blend. Bottled in August 2014 at 46% with the natural color and non chill-filtered.

It is made from whisky from the Clynelish distillery, a bit from the Allt-A-Bhainne distillery and some from Caol Ila distillery. Some of the whisky in here being just a few years away from turning 20... As always Compass Box does something creative with the labels and makes you look closely to also the outside of the bottle. They have created three different front labels with all of them displaying lost items. So we just have to find them all don't we?

Nose
Vanilla, lemon, some soft tropical fruit juice, Victoria sponge cake, fresh, sweet. Peaches, apples, some pear juices and a hint of earthy/peaty notes. After a bit more herbal and fruits coming through on the nose. The fresh citrus note with a hint of nuts in there balances the sweet fruits out a bit, and makes it a very pleasant nose.

Palate
Sweet, warm spices, black pepper, honey, toffee, stone fruits, nougat, vanilla, raisin, bit dry smoky feel. Like the nose the notes on fruits, herbal, peat and some creamy feel with dried apples and some roasted vegetables come to mind. The palate and nose are very full and balanced.

Finish
Medium length finish, quite enjoyable, bit dryness coming off the peat, that reminds me of some dry cocoa powder mixed with pears.

Score
7,5 out of 10. When looking at my notes on the Eleuthera I can see the similarities for sure, but it is also different, what makes it all fun for sure! Would love myself to have a full bottle of it. It is honey sweet, very fruity, a hint of the vegetable/herbal note mixed with peat and the freshness of the citrus. Great combination! Thanks for sharing this one with us! Something to look out for in the stores!