Compass Box Whisky is not your father’s Scotch—the company, started by ex-pat John Glaser, is working to reinvent the sometimes stodgy spirit with small-batch, craft-blended bottles. Glaser took a detour from dreams of winemaking and landed in the whisky world, but he approaches the brown liquor like a vintner (or a perfume-maker, even), hand-selecting Scotches from the top distilleries to make his spirits. It’s paid off—Compass Box has been honored with Whisky Magazine’s Innovator of the Year award five times since their launch in 2000. For Father’s Day, re-think your (and Dad’s) preconceptions of blends with a bottle from the Great King Street line of whiskies. The versatile pours can be enjoyed neat (by the grill, maybe?) or in a cocktail that would win over any traditionalist.
Compass Box created the Great King Street range, named after their Edinburgh office address, to give blended whiskies the good name they deserve. The Artist’s Blend was the first in the line with a flavor profile that runs fruity with vanilla and spice. It’s almost half malt whisky, aged on American oak to give the grain whisky richness and sweetness and new toasted French oak to give the final product warmth. The Glasglow Blend follows in its sister footsteps but brings more malt to the table (67%) and is aged on ex-bourbon barrels, new French oak and first-fill Sherry casks as a nod to Scotch tradition. The flavors, however, speak to modern palates with big bursts of dried fruit, baking spices and wine with a complex smokiness. The great thing about Great King Street is that the creamy craft blends do just as well neat as with a little water or in a Scotch cocktail.
Brand ambassador Robin Robinson admits to once harboring ill-will towards the highball—“they were the most boring, undelicious drink I’d ever had”—but some experimentation with Artist’s Blend helped him find a refreshing summer drink for kicking back in the garden. He recommends a 40/60 mix of Scotch to soda water over ice with one large mint leaf (smacked in your palm for good measure) slipped next to the ice. He says, “The mint aroma beckons your nose into it and adds a light delicacy to the fruitiness of the whisky. The rich maltiness and the higher alcohol content hold up to the water so that the dilution adds to the pleasure of the drink, rather than taking away any richness, all the way to the bottom.” Smoke-lovers can substitute Glasglow Blend for a peat-ier pour.
You can find Compass Box whiskies at shops like Cambridge Wine and Spirits or the Urban Grape, or at bars like Brick & Mortar or Townsman. Pick up a bottle of Great King Street blends to enjoy with your favorite Scotch-lover this Father’s Day—it might be your father’s Scotch, after all.
Great King Street Highball, by Robin Robinson
2 parts Great King Street Scotch
3 parts soda water
1 large mint leaf
Fill highball glass with ice and add whisky and soda water. Stir. Smack mint leaf in your hand to release the oils and slide next to the ice. Enjoy!
