Only unlucky for those who couldn’t make this excellent evening – informative and enjoyable in equal measure hosted in our cellars by Chris Maybin, Commercial Director. Of Compass Box.
The Company delights in producing a range of carefully blended whiskies, made in a variety of styles to suit a variety of tastes.
(Click here or on the image below to see our current Compass Box offers:)
Common factors – no colouring, no chill filtering.
As Chris said, the style of whisky is about the person + the occasion.
Delilah’s
Delilah’s has been created as homage to the legendary eponymous bar found in Chicago. The whisky (50% malt, 50% grain) is aged in American oak barrels and rejuvenated American hogsheads. The result produces an intense richness, with vanilla character and sweetness.
The whisky is also intended to work perfectly as a shot with a beer, so after some research (thanks, Charlie) we decided to pair the lovely Delilah’s with locally brewed Sadler’s Thin Ice Extra Pale Ale.
The beer produces aromas of zesty orange, melon & kiwi with distinctive citrus notes and a fresh finish, complementing perfectly the whisky’s sweet richness.
Delilah’s is a Limited Release – only about 240 bottles are available in the UK (er, that’s 239 now…) A splendid way to start the evening.
Next was Great King Street Artist’s Blend
Described as a marriage of robust, complex Highland malt and delicate subtle Lowland grain. The style is rich, round and fruity with hints of toasty oak, vanilla and spice.
The third expression sampled this evening was Oak Cross, a rich, medium bodied malt whisky combining carefully selected examples from three Highland single malt distilleries:. The core character comes from the Clynelish distillery (60%) with the remainder coming equally from Teaniaich and Dailuaine.
American oak provides familiar vanilla characteristics with subtle complexity coming from partial aging in French oak to add light, spicy, clove-like characters.
The Spice Tree was next to be appraised. The constituents are the same as for Oak Cross, but the oak used is different. Thereby hangs a tale. Compass Box were the first whisky makers to use new French oak and the addition of new oak staves to the secondary maturation barrels. As this practice was seen by the Scotch Whisky Association as ‘not traditional’, it effectively ‘outlawed’ Spice Tree as a Scotch whisky..!
You can read the full story here:
http://www.compassboxwhisky.com/pdf/TheSpiceTreeStory.pdf
Suffice to say, after having to cease production of this remarkable whisky, these clever chaps at Compass Box have now managed to modify the maturation process to satisfy the Scotch Whisky Association and the customers whilst maintaining the distinctive flavour profile of this award-winner:
Clove, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla on the nose leading to sweet richness on the palate with some oakiness apparent over its long finish.
Hedonism
This is a blended grain whisky, in fact the only 100% grain whisky permanently produced in Scotland.. It was the first whisky made by Compass Box and uses 100% first fill American oak casks, plus time…Typically 15-25 year old grain whiskies are used, and the aptly-named product has a signature which is long, vanilla creamy, with toffee and coconut notes.
The Peat Monster
This is another special Limited Edition bottling, this time celebrating the 10th anniversary of the best seller of The Peat Monster.
It delivers intense aromas of peat-reek, smoke, seaside character and burnt ropes and a subtle apple-fruitiness in the background. The evening’s tipplers particularly enjoyed a nibble of smoked cheese to accompany this iconic dram. Only 500 make that 499 bottles are released for the UK.
The General
“Old, eccentric, powerful and ridiculously rare!” The youngest whisky in this blend of malt and grain is 33 years old, the rest considerably older. The result, bottled at 53.4% is extremely rich and harmonious. On the palate you’ll find dried fruits, sweet spices, honey and a touch of sherry, (thanks to aging in American whisky casks and sherry casks.) The finish goes on, and on… a little of this goes a long way. Just 200 bottles released for the UK.
At the end of the evening, Chris asked everyone to indicate their favourites from the seven delightfully different Compass Box expressions.
With a fairly even spread across the diverse range, it shows that people like different things… à chacun son gout!
Next event:
Burns Night Whisky Tasting Thursday 23rd January 2014
A special tasting for the Bard’s night. Six special malts and a haggis supper.
Starts 7.30pm. Tickets £30.00. Click here to buy
