Compass Box No Name Review [From Paris with Love]

Hi everyone,

Today I've got a whisky you probably didn't know exists. Perhaps it doesn't.

They've called it No Name, which is ironic. Or perhaps it isn't. I mean, is No Name the name of the whisky or does the whisky have no name?

Maybe this whisky doesn't exist at all, or perhaps there's going to be 15,000 bottles of it at around £100/€134.

They tell us that 75.5% comes from Pier road, Islay (google maps it), from a re-charred American standard barrel. 10.6% from Port Askaig, Islay (again, maps), from a refill American standard barrel. 13.4% from Brora on the mainland (that should be an easy one), from a recharred hogshead, and 0.5% is CB's highland malt blend from a heavy toast, French oak hybrid cask. A lot of info there. More puzzles, more questions.

Perhaps we'll find the answers to the questions, perhaps in a few weeks. Then again, maybe we'll never know.

The packaging is amazing, although they've forgone a box for a display case, which I don't like so much.

Dark.

Brooding.

Mysterious.

This is... (Whisper it) No Name...

(mysterious whistling wind noises)

Compass Box No Name 48.9%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Fantastic meld of old smoke, lime juice (which gives the pier rd, Islay distillery away immediately, even if they hadn't said Pier rd) and amazing sharp grapefruit. Fantastic balance and complexity.

Taste: Sharp amazing citrus, lime and grapefruit, oils glide across the palate. Incredible complexity. Flawless balance. Textbook, really.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Creamy, not as amazing as the taste, but still great of course. Drier with this sooty note.

What a whisky. From my experience, it tastes like that Peir rd distillery is from 1991. I've had a few from the 90's, and the only one with that grapefruit note was 1991. That would be amazing for the price, so I doubt it but anything is possible. Anyway, this is an immediate buy and if I'd have to recommend one whisky you pick up this year so far, it's this. By quite a way.

88/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #450

Whisky Network Review #513

Network Average: 74.2

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

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