Normally i don’t post about new whiskies before they are released, or before I have the chance to sample them, but I really like John Glaser’s work and CB’s whiskies, and this one is really something i am looking forward to trying soon.
To make a long story short- Compass Box has released 4 days ago a new Brand of whiskies solely dedicated to Blended Scotch Whisky – called Great King Street and the first expression from this line is named ‘The Artist’s Blend’. Quoting J.Glaser:
“This is more than a brand; it’s a mission. A mission to get people – all people – to take a fresh look at Blended Scotch; to join in the Rebirth of the Blend: in how Blends are made, how they are viewed, how they are consumed.”
The new expression solely dedicated to Blended Scotch Whisky –Available exclusively in a 50cl format – the first Scotch whisky to do so – and bottled at 43%. The name and label are inspired by Compass Box’s registered office address in Scotland – 24 Great King Street, in Edinburgh. This new whisky price will be around £25.00. The blend will consist almost 50% single malt and the rest grain :
- 51.4% Lowland Grain whisky
- 23.2% Northern Highland single malt (fruity/perfumed profile)
- 23.2% Northern Highland single malt (grassy/perfumed profile)
- 7.7% Speyside single malt
As for Cask profile:
- 62.3% First fill American oak
- 27.7% New headed French oak
- 10% first fill Sherry butt
again J.Glaser explains:
“In a world where malt whisky gets all the attention, people often overlook the pleasures of good Blended Scotch. We believe that Great King Street will change this. There are good reasons why the blending of grain whisky and malt whisky has been the mainstay of the Scotch industry for over 100 years. Well-made Blended Scotches have an elegance and approachability that make them a joy to drink. Great King Street will offer a new and compelling alternative for both whisky enthusiasts who ordinarily drink only malt whiskies, and for whisky novices.
By applying the same skill, techniques and philosophy that we use for the Compass Box Signature Range of whiskies, Great King Street will offer a style and approach to Blended Scotch that has not existed before. The keys are using individually chosen casks from some of Scotland’s best distilleries, a high proportion of malt whisky, truly excellent quality grain whiskies, and the careful use of new French Oak aging for added complexity. All bottled at a natural colour and without chill-filtering. We call whiskies made with this approach ‘craft blends’.”
I’ve really been impressed by almost every CB release be it Blended (Asyla), Single Grain (Hedonism) or Blended Malt (Spice Tree), and even the Blended ‘Single Double’, So I am quite sure this blend will be something worth trying. As for the price, It’s not cheap for a NAS blend, so we’ll have to see…
More information is available at : www.greatkingstreet.com
Watch this space for tasting notes coming soon.
Sounds pretty interesting and I will surely try to get my hands onto a sample.
But I don’t think the “First Scotch exclusively in 50 cl bottles” statement is correct. The Chivas Cask strength bottlings are only sold in 50 cl bottles as well, if I am not mistaken. But I guess it boils down to a matter of definition, and it’s not really important anyway 😉
What I don’t quite get is that they tell the proportions of the components accurate to the tenth of a percent but then don’t disclose the distilleries. What sense does this kind of accuracy make then?
Well, This is indeed interesting.
CB never tells tells where they source their casks… but they do disclose the cask breakdown.