Whisky : Compass Box No Name (2nd Edition)

Country/Region : Scotland/Blend (75.5% Caol Ila, 10.5% Talisker, 13.5% Clynelish, .5% Other)

ABV : 48.9%

Cask : Refill Sherry Butt, Rechar American Oak Hogshead, Heavy Toast French Oak

Nose :  Salty lemon peel, tart grapefruit, and earthy ginger.  The salty maritime influence is unmistakable: seawater margarita, drift wood, sea cotton, and a sun-dried salt-pond.  Meaty notes emerge over time giving the sweet and salty notes the impression of Chinese roast pork or charsiu.

Palate :  Salty oily harbor water, ginger chew candies, and a chalky mineral note— this dram does not take you far out to sea.  Lemon oil, grassy herbs, detergent, and beef broth appear on the mid palate.  Tropical citrus; yuzu and calamansi, as well as herb roasted pork develop near the end

Finish : Lingering sweet citrus and salt.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Calamansi Margarita.

Something Similar : Bowmore 19 Year French Oak (similar meat/tropical citrus, more caramels/cocoa)

Something Worse : Bushmills 15Y SMWS 51.10 (similar tropical citrus, lighter body, no maritime)

Notes : A hair better than the original No Name— which I consider a big surprised as I had my doubts that it would be anywhere near as good.  Even the Ardbeg-aphile wife declared the newest edition of No Name to be meatier and more complex— far more interesting in her eyes than the original, especially after she compared them in a blind tasting.  The flavor palate on this one was certainly dominated by notes that I think of as classic Caol Ila.  While that did not initially excite me, I did enjoy the end result— and I really should not have been surprised.  A lovely bottle, Compass Box are masters of creating blends that are more than the sum of their parts.  Both editions of No Name have been solid and really enjoyable bottles and I look forward to where else they go with the series.