Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend, Single Marrying Vat

 

First off, thanks to Rob Martin for this sample! I always admire the Compass Box whiskies, and have been curious about this bottle for a while now. 

Compass Box manufactures some really excellent blends, and even the worst bottles I've had from them are pretty damned interesting. This one is, apparently, a love letter to Glasgow; the website opens by saying 

"Aromas of sherry and smoke permeate the streets of Glasgow

In his 1930s book ‘Whisky’, Aeneas MacDonald teaches us that Glaswegians historically preferred fuller bodied and more flavour-packed whiskies than people in other parts of the world. So what better name for a whisky such as this?

Glaswegians are also famed for their sense of humour, which is why the city’s Wellington statue – traditionally dressed down with a traffic cone – is featured on the front label."

Compass Box Oak Cross

 

I found this Compass Box Oak Cross at a price I couldn't resist. I've had a number of their other standard offerings, especially The Peat Monster, but never this one. Consisting of a marriage of American and French oak, with the core idea being a blending of vanilla and spice, it is mainly Clynelish with a couple other malts mixed in the bargain for their various qualities and then finished in a special Compass Box cask for two years. Bottled at 43% with no chill filtration and no coloring. Let's see if it succeeded:

Compass Box Peat Monster Blend

I've had several offerings in the Compass Box family - including Spice Tree, Orangerie, and Great King Street: Artist's Blend, which I reviewed and quite liked - but none has intrigued me more than Peat Monster.