Compass Box

Compass Box The Story of the Spaniard

Compass Box was founded in 2000 by American John Glaser and quickly made a name for themselves by bottling and marketing a range of blended scotch. While Compass Box found early notoriety for its conflicts with the Scotch Whisky Association but over the years they have gone from being outsiders to being respected innovators with numerous industry awards under their belts. The Story of the Spaniard is meant to be a showcase of sherry and the influence the fortified wine can have on scotch. Each of the several blends has some component of sherry maturation. The story behind the Story is a nod to Glaser’s first experience with sherry during travels in Spain.

By Adam | September 20, 2021 | Blends | No Comments |

SnapShot: The Bold and the Blended (Compass Box)

Our SnapShot series continues with an exploration of a company we’ve long been curious about: Compass Box Whisky. They have been on our proverbial radar for years but we only recently dipped our toes in with bottles of the Great King Street “Glasgow” and The Peat Monster. One reason is not wanting to plunk down the price of a bottle without trying any first, and none of the bars we normally frequent in the metro carry blends. Hey, don’t blame us for having standards. The set featured here is an elegantly put together kit, with the 50ml vials feeling especially generous. There was also a snappy foldout filled with info-graphics attempting to distill the tastes and sources of each whisky into something digestible, walking the edge between too much for beginners and not enough for the more curious. We tasted the entire set in the space of about one hour in the order of the following.

By Adam | June 14, 2017 | Musings | No Comments |

John Glaser and Compass Box have been pushing the bounds of scotch since the beginning, often winning awards and angering conglomerates along the way. One of their long staples (Signature Range) has been the Peat Monster. This monster is, despite the name, not built to overwhelm. Rather, the stated purpose is to take those Islay elements and enrich them with fruits and malt. In other words, to create something that is far more than a two-dimensional scotch. There is also a 2013 release of a 10th anniversary edition of the Peat Monster we hope to try in the future. We also raise a special glass to John Glaser, as he is a native son of Minnesota.

By Adam | March 3, 2017 | Blends | No Comments |

« Previous