Compass Box Glasgow Blend 700ml

Compass Box Glasgow Blend is a malt-heavy blended Scotch whisky from Compass Box, the independent whisky maker based in London. It was first released in 2014 as Great King Street Glasgow Blend, and it is bottled at 43% ABV with natural colour and no chill filtration.

Buy Compass Box Glasgow Blend Online in New Zealand

Compass Box sources whisky from distilleries across Scotland and builds its own blends. For Glasgow Blend, the company describes a recipe with a very high share of malt, around 65%, from the Highlands and Islay, married with Lowland grain whisky. Maturation uses sherry-seasoned butts, American oak barrels and hogsheads, plus custom French oak casks. The idea came from a 1930 book, Aeneas MacDonald’s Whisky, which said Glaswegians liked their whisky fuller and smokier. The result is a blend led by rich, smoky and spicy notes, with sherry sweetness that coats the mouth. Fans of big sherried malts will find plenty here at a lower price, and peat lovers get a measure of Islay smoke without it taking over. The label shows the Duke of Wellington statue in Glasgow, complete with the traffic cone locals keep putting on its head.

Try it neat first, then with a few drops of water. Compass Box also uses it in cocktails, including a whisky sour, so it is a good bar-shelf bottle as well as a sipper. It suits smoked meats, hard cheese or a slice of fruitcake.