Compass Box Is Coming Out With Two New Whiskies

Noted independent bottler and blender Compass Box is releasing a pair of new whiskies:

Phenomenology – There’s No Right or Wrong
Phenomenology is a school of thought in psychology that focuses on phenomena, or, the experiences that we get from our senses–what we see, taste, smell, etc. It is a way of thinking about ourselves and the very personal, subjective nature of experience.

“Somehow, we saw a link between phenomenology and whisky,” says Compass Box founder and blender John Glaser. “We’d long been working on a blend of single malts that combines seemingly dissonant flavour profiles, but together creates something compelling and, strictly speaking, unique. We landed on a recipe that elicited a surprising range of reactions and descriptions from us, each person describing and taking away something different from the whisky. Someone even said the whisky was reminiscent of a “funky sherbet disco”.

“Rather than try to settle on whose perceptions were ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, we were inspired by the phenomenological school of thought to consider how different people experience the same phenomenon. Could this approach, we mused, be applied to our ways of exploring, understanding and enjoying whisky?”

Bottled at 46% ABV, a total of 7,908 bottles of Phenomenology will be released worldwide – launching first in Europe where it will be available in select specialty retailers from 1st October 2017 and in the US from 1st November 2017 at £150 / $180 SRP.

No Name – What’s In A Name?
The second limited edition whisky, No Name, is the peatiest Compass Box release to date.  In the spirit of phenomenological thinking, this whisky was given No Name to let the whisky speak for itself.  It is massive in terms of the intensity and complexity of flavor; a whisky brimming with complex peatiness, but tempered with hints of fruit character and an underlying sweetness.

The idea for this limited edition was sparked by the discovery of a parcel of casks of mature, heavy-peated single malt whisky from a well-known distillery located along Pier Road, in the Southeast of the island of Islay.  The peat profile of this malt whisky is different to that of The Peat Monster, the staple peated Blended Malt Scotch Whisky in the Compass Box range, so the parcel of casks was set aside for a special limited edition release.

The recipe is primarily composed of malt whisky from the distillery along Pier Road.  The tempering malt – an elegant and restrained peaty malt whisky – is from the Islay distillery located in Port Askaig.  A small proportion of malt whisky from a much-loved distillery in the Northern Highlands village of Brora was added to give dimension, fruit character and an ethereal element to the blend.   To finish things off, a touch of malt whisky finished in French oak was also added, providing a lovely underlying sweetness and richness.

Bottled at 48.9% ABV, a total of 15,000 bottles of No Name will also be released worldwide – launching first in Europe where it will be available in select specialty retailers from 1st October 2017 and in the US from 1st November 2017 at £100 / $125 SRP.

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