75.5% of the spirit is from malt whisky produced at Pier Road Islay (Ardbeg) which comes in Re-Charred American Standard Barrels. These barrels add Intense smoke, peaty and tarry characteristics.

    10.6% is from Refill American Standard Barrels coming from a distillery near the village of Port Askaig (Caol Ila) which provides light smoke and medicinal aromas.

    13.4% is Re-Charred Hogsheads from the village of Brora (Clynelish). These bring out waxy, fruity and ethereal flavors.

    0.5% is a Highland Malt Blend matured in heavy toast French oak hybrid casks with caramel and clove-spice touch.

Box, bottle, wax seal... the presentation sets some high expectations, and the contents deliver.

[January, 2022] A quick review of a sample...

...which is an excellent example of a delicious and interesting modern dram. Of course, this is more wood- than spirit -driven but all aromas and flavours are in balance hence it turns not into a simple and boring profile (like other heavily "spiked" drams). Easy to sip and enjoyable to explore. After adding some water it turns even more smooth and quaffable, I like to explore this dram neat and after that I enjoy it at around 43% abv.

Inexorably Islay

When Compass Box launched this whisky, they decided to give it no name, so the whisky could speak for itself. A bit of marketing BS, no doubt, but it has to be said: the bottle looks great and mysterious. Compass Box is very transparent about the contents though: 75.5% Ardbeg, 10.6% Caol Ila, 13.4% Clynelish and the last half percent is their own Highland Blend (which is very similar to their Oak Cross, i.e. 60% Clynelish, 20% Dailuaine and 20% Teaninich).

The nose immediately and inexorably catapults me to Islay. The typical peat with some salty notes (se breeze) and medicinal notes greet me as soon as I put my nose in the glass. This is clearly Ardbeg, but with a sweet twist. Some banana, smoked ham with peppercorns, stock fish and vanilla. Great nose if you like peat. But it’s much more than just a peat bomb, which Ardbeg can often be. Dare I say it? That this is almost perfect?

Creamy on the palate, very clean peat, smoldering wood, brackish water, very smoky, smoked ham and smoke salmon. From the second sip on it becomes saltier and smokier still. The sweet elements of the nose barely have chance. And still it’s great.

The finish is wonderfully long, very salty and smoke and quite satisfying.

Beautiful packaging, great whisky, affordable price. What’s not to like? This is among the best John Glaser and his team have created.

Nose: Softened peat, tarry smoke, an underlying sweetness, a bit dusty even. Some lemon and lime but not as much as the naked 10. Really harmonious. 

Palate: Very Ardbeg, and very good. Some melons like honeydew are faintly there as is some waxiness which gives it a great mouth feel. Shortbread, a nice underlying sweetness.  

Finish: great tarry smoke and light spice finish. More understated and balanced than the othe Ardbeg OBs. But a huge chunk of Ardbeg makes itself known in this whisky and that’s really awesome that it still kept its identity. 

Summary: If I was a whisky investor, (which I am not) I would buy this stuff by the case. I just can’t see it being replicated like flaming heart for example (also fantastic). I think a year after this stuff is all gone it will be one of those, remember Compass Box No Name? Compass box is pretty collectible in its own right with its snazzy packaging and next level marketing. Ardbeg is arguably currently the most collectible, so it’s a bit of a double whammy. Also, it’s pretty damn good. Just a masterpiece of blending in my Opinion, with each ingredient complementing the other. All this at an extremely fair price ($120 Canadian). A modest price for a Compass Box, and an even more modest price for 75% 2003 Ardbeg. All this is great, but it is important to keep in mind that sometimes hype overshadows the fact whisky like Ardbeg 10, Corry, and Oogie are still really really good and some would argue better. Still a knockout whisky at a fair price which is the real win here. Easy buy.

90/100

Compass Box:

"This is the most powerful Whiskey Compass Box has ever made, and they chose the name for" NO NAME. "The idea for this limited edition came to John Glaser and his team when they discovered a pack of American oak barrels with mature, massive peaty single malt whiskey from a well-known distillery on Pier Road, in the southeast of Islay.

This whiskey got NO NAME, so no name just for the whiskey
to speak for themselves. He is massive when it comes to the intensity and complexity of the flavors. A whiskey that is full of complex peat but balances with fruity notes and fine sweetness.

The main ingredient of the recipe comes from the distillery on Pier Road.
The balancing whiskeys come from the distillery in the village of Port Askaig with its elegant, slightly restrained, peaty malt whiskey. To get depth and fruit character they added a small portion of a very popular distillery from the village of Brora in the northern Highlands. Finally, there is a touch of Malt Whiskey * from French oak, which provide a beautiful sweetness and richness.

Tasting Notes
: A campfire-like smoke in the nose with a capacity that is alternately dry and medicinal with notes of autumnal leaves. A powerful smokiness and tangibility also follows in the taste, this is accentuated by hints of ripe cherries, palates and spices.

recommendation
: An ideal whiskey for pure enjoyment in small sips. Maybe with a small splash of water or even an ice cube. This will gradually expose the complexity of this whiskey by slow dilution.

(* A Blended Malt Scotch Whiskey, composed of 60% Clynelish, 20% Dailuaine and
20% Teaninich. All whiskeys are fully matured and get a second maturation in highly active hybrid barrels for several years.) "

https://www.prineus.com/images/compass-box-whisky/limited_releases/CBW_FactSheet_NoName_deutsch.pdf

https://www.compassboxwhisky.com/dnl-pdf.php?fl=CBW_FactSheet-2018-NONAME.pdf

N : gentle, quickly evolving on a citric peat. Puff pastry base, nutty kerosene with a green twist (chlorophyll or is it juniperus ?). Even a bit of citrus. Everything stands together very well.
M : oily. On the Ardbeg side of the nose, juniperus and pepper, astringent. Not gentle like the nose, the sweeter aspects are really thin here. Still good, but wouldn't any Ardbeg at this price tag be ?
F : ends like an over infused Lapsang Souchong tea, with a distinct smokiness for the first time. Bitterness of a nut skin. Cold Fine 120 menthol. I like this, reminiscent of some clay pot distilled Mezcals.

I can only be sad that the mouth doesn't keep up with the rest. 7/10