COMPASS BOX – THIS IS NOT A LUXURY WHISKY
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Scotland’s leading independent whiskymaker Compass Box is bringing out a new release this fall questioning the very nature of “luxury” spirits…
“As whiskymakers, when we say ‘luxury’ what we’re talking about is the liquid, the flavor, the experience of enjoying the whisky. Similar to what Magritte did with his painting of a pipe that claimed it was not a pipe, we wanted to see what would happen if we put a rare, old, expensive liquid in an explicitly ‘non-luxury’ container. Would it diminish the whisky in any way? Would the liquid inside be seen as less desirable simply because of what was written on the front label? Or would the true measure of the whisky prove to be the amber liquid inside? That’s what we hope to get people thinking about with this release.” John Glaser, Compass Box founder.
Bottled at natural cask strength 53.1% ABV, only 4,992 bottles of ‘This Is Not a Luxury Whisky’ will be available across Europe from 15th October 2015 at £150 SRP and in the US from 12th November at $225 SRP. Four different “parcels” of whisky were used in its creation: 19-year-old malt whisky from the Glen Ord distillery in the Scottish Highlands was blended with two separate parcels of 40-year-old grain distilled at Girvan and Strathclyde as well as a portion of precious 30 year-old malt whisky from the Caol Ila distillery. Compass Box calls the result “compelling, lingering and complex.” (more details on Pursuitist)
Check out other releases from Compass Box
September 2015 marked the launch of Scapa Skiren, a single malt forged by the elements of Orkney island.
The whisky, which gets its name from the Old Norse word for glittering bright skies, is distilled in a unique barrel-shaped Lomond wash still – the only remaining working Lomond in the Scotch whisky industry – and matured in first fill American Oak casks.
Scapa recently opened its distillery to the public, for the first time since its launch in 1885, on the beautiful, wild and untameable Orkney mainland. It is situated on the shore of the Scapa Flow, a natural harbour and one of Britain’s most historic stretches of water.
Scapa master distiller, Brian MacAulay says: “It has been a real pleasure to bring the dynamic and unexpected contrasts of Orkney to life in Scapa Skiren. It is a product of our island; forged by the elements and the expertise of our dedicated team who use traditional methods and skills honed over several generations to create our distinctive Island malt with its unique smooth honeyed taste.”
Delägare is a soft and chewy Swedish malt that gets its character from an elegant recipe, stored in 100-liter casks of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, new American oak, new Swedish oak and bourbon saturated with cloudberry wine. To reinforce, Mackmyra has also spiced the whisky with small casks of 30 liters saturated with cloudberry wine. The result is a berry, slightly spicy and fruity Swedish malt whisky to be enjoyed at any time, such as with the coffee or after a good meal!
Check out the other releases from the Mackmyra Moment series
DRY FLY DISTILLING – STRAIGHT TRITICALE WHISKEY
Triticale is what happens when a species of wheat and a species of rye are crossed together to form one grain, as was first practiced in late 19th century Scotland. The folks at Dry Fly in Washington state, led by Don Poffenroth and Kent Flieschmann, got their hands on some seeds and distilled it. It’s perhaps the only whiskey on the market made from this rare hybrid seed!
THE NEW ZEALAND WHISKY – DUNEDIN DOUBLEWOOD 15YRS
A MasterBlend of 70% single malt, and 30% premium grain whisky produced from unmalted barley in the Willowbank Distillery. Aged for 6 years in American Bourbon barrels, before finishing in French Oak NZ wine barrels, giving ruby colour, depth of character and long-lasting, rich flavours.
The Dunedin DoubleWood comes from the foresight of our predecessors, the Preston Family, to transfer a large number of six year old MasterBlended whisky from American Oak to French Oak ex-red wine barrels. The new barrels came from the North Island and previously contained New Zealand Pinot and Cab Sauv. The Prestons released their DoubleWoodafter 2 years in French Oak. This current release has benefited from at least nine years in the new barrels giving it a truly unique flavour.
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