Compass Box Archives - More drams, less drama

Compass Box The General

28th October 202228th October 2022Coldorak

The General is unusual as far as how expressions are made at Compass Box. Usually, and as we’ve seen in previous Compass Box reviews here, John Glaser or his other whisky makers select single malts of different profiles and assemble them themselves. Here, Glaser bought casks of whiskies already blended at a young age and left to marry in those casks for a very long time. Two parcels were bought, one being 33 years old at the time of The General’s final blending, and one rumoured to be 40 years old. John Glaser describes the whisky as having an “antique character lovers of old whiskies will seek out”. So let see what we think of this Compass Box The General.

Compass Box Orchard House

21st February 202221st February 2022Coldorak

There are several ways a whisky grabs your interest. It might be because it’s a new release from your favourite distillery, blender or independent bottler. You might really like the bottle or the label. There might be a finish you like or you want to try. It may have been reviewed by a whisky blogger you trust or in a whisky magazine or website and it got a good review. Maybe it was on offer at your off-licence or online shop, and you’re feeling adventurous. It might be because you’re getting bored with this introduction that still doesn’t get to the point. Or because friends recommended this bottle, giving it high praise. And in Compass Box Orchard House’s case, it was the latter. I didn’t have time to go taste it at Whisky Live Paris in 2021 as I was there as an exhibitor, but people I met there, owning a great pub in Rennes, and friends from the Whisky Circus, highly recommended this blended malt. It was cheap, too. And I like Compass Box. And the label was beautiful. So I decided to trust them and buy a bottle. For at least the three first reasons, but the fourth was the cherry on top.

Compass Box Spice Tree & Spice Tree Extravaganza Review

3rd July 202028th October 2022Coldorak

The Spice Tree is a famous blend made by Compass Box. John Glaser, Compass Box Whisky Company‘s founder, is a man who spent many years in the wine trade. Younger, he wanted to become a wine merchant or a winemaker. After joining Diageo to work in the marketing department of Johnnie Walker, he learnt blending next to JW’s master blender Jim Beveridge. While at first he intended to slide over to Diageo’s wine department, things worked out differently and he fell in love with Scotch Whisky. Later, he decided to go back to his ambition: create. But this time, to create whisky, as he saw the idea of blending whisky as a creative art. So he decided to become not a winemaker, but a “whiskymaker”. And in 2000, he founded Compass Box Whisky.