Compass Box No Name No. 2 Review

Hi everyone,

Thought some people might appreciate my thoughts on this whisky quickly as it has just come out here in the UK.

I was a big fan of the last No Name from Compass Box but that one had a parcel of Ardbeg, whereas this is mainly Coal Ila with some Talisker attached.

 

Compass Box No Name No. 2 48.9%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Clean smoke, pure lemon, soft soot and charred wood, creamy vanilla, maritime with wet ropes and sails, sea salt crust, little bit of a muted nose.

Taste: Soft, light smoke, chewy oils, then more powerful with smoke and black pepper, ginger and chilli, big salty hit, lemon juice. Softer, more silky and Campbeltown-esque as it opens up.

Finish: Long length. More lemon, more salt, a little oak at the end. Not particularly complex but good.

Lacking the complexity and balance of no1, nice nose, bit too spicy on the taste. I think the Coal Ila comes through very clearly on this one and maybe the spiciness from the Talisker but this was meant to be more complex than No Name 1 (which I loved the purity of) and I didn’t find that it was. Oh, and its £10 more expensive.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #765

Whisky Review #910

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Tomatin Cù Bòcan (+Blind Review Video) & Old Ballentruan 15 Reviews

Hi everyone,

I’ve been trying to continue doing my blind reviews on my Youtube channel but life keeps getting in the way, or perhaps I’m just lazy.

Anyway, when a mate put two samples in my hand of things he’d gotten over Christmas, I told him not to tell me what they were so I could taste them blind.

So this is the first, a Tomatin that (spoiler alert) I guessed was a young Bruichladdich. The lack of peat but presence of saltiness seemed to have put me off the mark on this one. Link here

Tomatin Cù Bòcan 46%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Buttery, oily and lightly floral. Lemon and some yeasty dough notes, quite young with the New Make Spirit poking through a little.

Taste: Soft arrival, lacking power initially with some lemon and a little malt, quite delicate development with some yeast and dough, quite sour with green apple joining the lemon.

Finish: Medium length. More spirity here, a little harsh and sour.

Lightly peated Tomatin. Very lightly peated apparently because I don't get any peat at all! If I hadn’t picked up on the saltiness, I would have said this was a young NAS Highlander.

64/100

Oh, hell. I’m sure I’ve got another peated Highlander I reviewed recently…

rummage

 

Old Ballantruan 15 50%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Quite rustic, malty, a little dust, honey, florals and golden raisin, a little smoke here and there but not powerful.

Taste: Soft then oily with growing smoke, peaty and mineral after a little rubber then honey and dust and golden raisin before more peat going into the finish.

Finish: Medium/Long length. More peaty here with red apple, going very mineral.

A heavily peated Tomintoul but again, not a massive amount of smoke here. Almost tastes like a peated Macallan with the golden raisin notes. Quite flat on the palate. Balance is tricky here.

72/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #722-#723

Whisky Network Review #860-#861

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Compass Box The Spaniard & Flaming Heart 6th Ed. Reviews

Hi everyone,

I’ve got two newish CB’s today. Always a fan of the more expensive versions and generally their outlook and experimentation.

I was lucky enough to try the new version of Flaming Heart at the Whisky Exchange Show recently and just tried The Spaniard yesterday, so thought I’d put up my notes together.

The 5th edition of Flaming Heart is one of my favourite Compass Box’s and I just love the packaging. Might be one of my favourite packagings on any Scotch actually. Not too overblown, lovely shaded bottle. So I was very curious to see how this new version stacks up.

Compass Box The Spaniard 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Really fruity, sweet gummy bears, wax, malt, spice, creamy biscuit, some milk chocolate and heather, quite a complex one actually. A more gristy malt develops.

Taste: Very soft, lacking a touch of power just as it begins, creamy, better mouthfeel as it goes on, malt, more spicy then with nice ginger and black pepper, tingling.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Creamy again with some spice.

48% Spanish wine casks. Quite an average one. Quite a good nose with the fruitiness working well but on the palate you get nice spices but not a huge amount more. This one isn’t too expensive though to be fair.

73/100

 

Compass Box Flaming Heart 6th Ed. 48.9%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: More fruity than I remember the last one being with lots of fresh apple notes, red and green apple, juicy pear, waxy and delicate, light creamy smoke behind, lemon candy.

Taste: Super soft and balanced arrival, creamy then more malty with chocolate then bigger mineral and salty peat, waxy and Brora-like.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Waxy and seashells, Brora. Some spice and oak too.

Glaser's mission to recreate Brora it seems. Fantastic of course, but not the equal of the 5th edition I think. I love the coastal notes here but the last I remember being more complex and kept developing.

83/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #678-#679

Whisky Network Reviews #812-#813

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Hellyers Road x4 Reviews: Roaring Forty, Original 10, Pinot Noir & Lightly Peated

Hi everyone,

The Malt Vault in Utrecht is a highly recommended whisky bar in The Netherlands, in which I had a tasting booked. I also happened to taste some whiskies while I was there too, resulting in these reviews.

These first ones were a rapid-fire collection of whisky from Tasmania, Australia. A first for me because I’d never had Australian whisky before. The Hellyers Road distillery was founded in 1999.

 

Hellyers Road Roaring Forty 40%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Pastry and dough, an off note like burnt rubber, herbal.

Taste: Soft, lacking mouthfeel, vanilla, creamy, almost that rubber creeping in.

Finish: Medium length. Dough and pastry, creamy.

Not particularly my style of whisky. If you enjoy Jura, you’ll probably enjoy this.

60/100

Hellyers Road Original 10 46.2%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Much cleaner than the 40. Same style but with some oak, quite dry and subtle.

Taste: Clean, malt, nice fresh citrus and earthy malt, then a little too spicy but tones down into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Spicy but good with malt, vanilla and dry oak.

My favourite of these four. A nice clean and sippable whisky.

68/100

Hellyers Road Pinot Noir 46.2%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: The burnt rubber returns with more fruit and sweetness, cherry stones, better as it opens up with butter.

Taste: Soft and light, red berries, creamy, vanilla, dry oak, a little rubber again.

Finish: Medium length. Red berries, a little bitterness coming in, dry oak.

Not so much my thing, although others have thought good things.

64/100

Hellyers Road Lightly Peated 46.2%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Nice light smoke, some dough, subtle citrus note, lemon and watermelon.

Taste: Soft and creamy, vanilla, very light smoke, some orange peel, oak.

Finish: Medium length. Some spice comes in, malt and a little chocolate.

The light citrus and subtle smoke reminds me of the Penderyn Peated but the dough reminds me of Jura.

67/100

Distillery: Hellyers Road

Average Score: 68.8

Distillery Ranking: 53rd/ 62 places

Up/Down: N/a

Thanks for reading!

Australian Reviews #1-#4

Whisky Network Reviews #732-#735

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Longrow Red Cab Franc & Tasting Room Sample Reviews

Hi everyone,

Springbank’s sibling Longrow could also be described as the younger brother. It’s brasher, bolder younger brother. Being only double distilled, and also more heavily peated, I find it doesn’t normally have the complexity of Springbank. Although, having just said that, I’ve heard great things about the stuff distilled in the 70’s.

These have not been distilled in the 70’s. The first is the new(ish) Longrow Red and then I’ve got a special(ish) one I tried at the recent Whisky in Leiden festival.

Longrow Red 11 Cabernet Franc 55.8%

Colour: Redish

Body: Full

Nose: Fruity chewy sweets, orange in particular and red berries, orange chewing gum. Odd nose.

Taste: Intense, big whisky. Red berries, dirty smoke, perfumed oak, ginger and white pepper.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Soft, ginger beer, orange, late smoke.

Not a massive fan of this series, I find them out of balance and a bit all over the place.

75/100

 

Longrow Tasting Room Sample 57.9%

Colour: Straw

Body: Full

Nose: Very nice nose of creamy smoke, ashes, something meaty, vanilla pod, slightly dirty peat.

Taste: Clean, smoky, lemon and green apple, coming in showing the youth, earthy then ashy. Green peppercorns getting more and more bitter.

Finish: Medium length. Quite bitter and astringent here, green peppercorns.

Bottled 06? A bottling for the Cadenhead's Tasting Room. Very nice nose, a bit harsh to taste.

75/100

Distillery: Springbank

Average Score: 78.6

Distillery Ranking: 15th/ 61 places

Up/Down: 14>15 (Down 1)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #610-#611

Whisky Network Reviews #722-#723

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

English Whisky Co. for M&S, Chapter 11 & 14

Hi everyone,

Now this particular post could be seen as controversial and I might as well address it now rather than later.

I am not a massive fan of the whiskies the English Whisky Co. put out. They tend to be yeasty, marmite-y and a bit weird. I call it a whisky for beer drinkers.

Having said that, some might argue that they are one of the direct competitors of the company I work for. So, my giving them bad scores could be seen as a smear campaign to disadvantage them competitively. If you are thinking that. Stop it. I am a pillar of righteous integrity, and as always these are just my honest opinions of these whiskies.

 

English Whisky Co for M&S 43%

Colour: Straw

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Very very fresh, lots of green apple and lemon, a bit of malt, some yeast, dough, a little marmite and some yeasty weird oak. Odd. More yeast comes out over time.

Taste: Soft, lacking some power at first then fresh green apple citrus, some lemon, developing weird yeast and dough notes that go into rubbery territory after a bit.

Finish: Medium length. Weird rubber and yeast. Playdough. Very odd.

Not a big fan of anything I've tried from this distillery so far. The fresh green apple is the only thing saving it. Thanks (sort of) to Mike for the sample.

57/100

 

English Whisky Co. Chapter 11 (Heavily Peated) 46%

Colour: Very light Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Loads of Marmite, overwhelming. Marmite on toast, peaty smoke, some pepper, some soot, earthy oak, some sort of savoury conserve or jam, pickled onion. Weird, doesn’t help that I don’t like marmite…

Taste: Marmite, wood smoke, charcoal, peat, more Marmite, green sappy oak, developing peaty spice and a little creamy sweetness.

Finish: Short length. Butter then nothing.

3 year old matured in ASB (American Standard Barrel). I had this at the same tasting as the Jameson Stout Cask, and although this is better (albeit relatively), it really isn’t to my tastes at all.

52/100

 

English Whisky Co Chapter 14 46%

Colour: Light Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Very yeasty. Cider, apple, lots of green apple and yeasty pastry.

Taste: Very cider-y with yeast, farmer's apples. Rough scrumpy.

Finish: Short length. Youthful and yeasty.

Almost more of a calvados than a whisky! I tried this a while ago now at Bristol whisky festival. Again, the weird yeasty notes that seem to be present in all three aren’t doing this any favours whatsoever. The best of this bunch though.

62/100

Thanks for reading!

English Reviews #2-#4

Whisky Network Reviews #695-#697

Network Average: 74.7

Best Score: 93

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?