Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend (revisited)...

Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend (43.0%):
After almost six years and dozens of empty bottles I think it's time to revisit one of my all time favorite blended whiskies if not the one. Glasgow Blend was released as a permanent addition to Great King Street line-up in 2014 inspired by Aeneas MacDonald's book "Whisky" published in 1930 where MacDonald talks about how Glaswegians prefer fuller bodied and more flavor-packed whiskies if compared to other whisky drinkers in the world... An inspiration which brought together a pioneer whisky maker currently celebrating his company's 20th anniversary and a city I am in love with in the very same bottle...

The batch I am about to pour carries the number #211 and it is bottled in June 2019... Even though I am aware that every batch might be blended from a slightly different recipe and that there is no way for Compass Box to keep up the downloadable fact sheet on the website up to date but here are some very geeky info for those who are interested: Back when Glasgow Blend was first launched it was blended from 67% malt whiskies sourced from Clynelish, Laphroaig and Benrinnes distilleries with the addition of the Highland malt blend we are familiar with from quite a few Compass Box expressions including Spice Tree and 33% grain whisky sourced from Cameronbridge distillery. And the most updated recipe I could find on their website is from January 2017 and it states that the blend contained that time 65% malt whiskies distilled at Clynelish and Laphroaig distilleries and at a distillery near Aberlour which shall remain nameless replacing the Benrinnes component from the earlier formulas and the same Highland malt blend. Again the remaining 35% was grain whisky distilled by Cameronbridge distillery. So, without further ado here is Compass Box Glasgow Blend Batch #211...
 
Color: Oaked white wine, yellow gold color with fast forming but thick and persistent legs.

Nose: Woolen scarves, ocean spray and wet beach sand. spent firewood, canned peaches and sour cherry juice. Passion fruit, ground coriander and crystallized ginger. Plastic food containers and Ziplock bags which any other day would hint Bowmore to me as one of the malt components if I didn't know better... Kudos to transparency..! Kriek lambic beer, vanilla and Port. It's coastal, dusty, a little tart, pleasantly smoky and masterfully balanced.

Palate: Orange blossom honey, charcoal bits on the grill and ripe Bartlett pears. Fresh ginger, Wintergreen Altoids and dry soot. It has a pretty viscous and creamy texture in spite of its relatively low abv... Cream soda and honey roasted nuts.

Finish: Medium to long with fine black pepper, warm honey and whole cloves. Orange twist and tart berries.

Overall: Believe me, this is the everyday whisky you've been looking for... I cannot imagine anyone demanding possibly more from this whisky at this price point. It's good to sip neat, handles water and/or a single ice cube very well, works great in cocktails and makes a killer highball. It's been my right hand bottom drawer whisky in the office for years and a must have bottle in my whisky cabinet since the day it was released... If there was a subscription button on Compass Box website for this bottle I would be the first person to click on.

Price: $35

Comments

Anonymous said…
"A distillery near Aberlour which shall remain nameless" ... similar to the sulfury, meaty, almost-always-used-for-blends Benrinnes ... perhaps Dailuaine? Less than 5km down the road from Aberlour.
Dailuaine makes a lot of sense since we already know that Glaser likes their distillate a lot...