For several years the BUMS have been singing the praises of Compass Box Whisky. From our first tasting of Flaming Heart in 2008 to our all Compass Box Whisky tasting in 2010, which included the most recent incarnation of Spice Tree, it was clear that a more careful and thoughtful approach to aging and blending could create outstanding drams.

With their new release Great King St. “Artists’s Blend,” there’s a new reason to indulge your senses in the scents and flavors from Compass Box Whisky. The concept behind Great King Street Blends was to create a more affordable and versatile whisky…a whisky that is great neat, over ice or in whisky cocktails.

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’.”

The new Great King St. “Artitst’s Blend” was released in June in Europe and is now making its way into the Midwest from its introduction to the US on the East coast in September. Great King Street “Artists’ Blend,” 43% ABV, 750ml US size, has a suggested retail of $39.99. (Note: European size varies from US 750ml size.)

John Glaser has always been open about what goes into his bottlings and King Street is no exception. He doesn’t mention specific distilleries but here is a breakdown from the Compass Box website:

WHISKY (Spirit Character)

A Lowland Grain Whisky (fruity/perfumed) 51.4%

B Northern Highland Single Malt (malty/fruity) 23.2%

C Northern Highland Single Malt (grassy/perfumed) 17.7%

D Speyside Single Malt (meaty) 7.7%

WOOD (Flavour Impact)

1 First Fill American Oak Barrel (vanilla) 62.3%

2 New French Oak Finish {New-Headed Barrel} 27.7%

  (Grilled Marshmallow, toastiness, roasted coffee)

3 First Fill Sherry Butt (wine, dried fruits) 10.0%

Now, we know from past bottlings what some of John’s favorite distilleries are so it might not be too far off base to guess that there is some Clynelish, Linkwood, Glen Elgin or Teaninich as one of the single malts and some Cameron Bridge for the Lowland Grain Whisky component.

What has been the reception for this new bottling?

Dominic Roskrow at Whisky Advocate, formerly Malt Advocate rates this dram a 91 with these comments: After a series of esoteric and expensive releases, Compass Box has decided to bring it all back to the people with a blend — and how! The journey sets out as we might expect; all sweet vanilla ice cream, stewed pear tart, and peach-melba, but then a wave of spice and white pepper provides an unexpected but delightful twist. It’s like Spice Tree meets Hedonism…Spiconism if you like.

Master of Malt tasting notes:

Nose: Sweet and creamy, with lots of cereal notes, some vanilla, dried fruits, citrus and apple crumble.

Palate: A gentle, creamy whisky, which develops a great deal of richness. Notes of Christmas spices, lemon, buttery apple crumble, Bakewell tart, rose petals and raisins.

Finish: Rich and sweet, with a long finish which tails off with notes of quince jelly, shortbread and spices.

Overall: Incredibly quaffable, an excellent whisky, and a definite crowd pleaser.

Oliver Klimek on the Dramming website has these notes:

Colour: Bright gold

Nose: Fresh hay, vanilla, breakfast cereals, lemon zest, pineapple, honey, just a whiff of smoke.

Palate: Vanilla, pineapple, lemon zest, dried banana chips, hints of almonds, ginger and a little peat but barely noticeable.

Finish:  Long fruity and slightly dry.

Overall: This whisky has a fantastic nose, and also the palate delivers a very wide spectrum of well-composed flavours. A very high quality blend indeed.

Rating: 86/100

BUMS tasting notes:

On the nose, loads of vanilla, sugar cookie dough, pineapple, lemon and the slightest bit of malty/smoky notes. On the palate, creamy vanilla, mild chocolate, butterscotch, almond paste and creme brulee. Very nicely balanced Since this is touted as a blend for mixing, I tried it with water and ice: Still very creamy with caramel, some nuttiness and a slight spiciness. Very pleasant. BUMS rating: 85-90

As John puts it, “As well as being delicious neat, Great King Street is equally enjoyable drunk with ice, as a refreshing Highball with soda water and ice, or in cocktails. One of the wonderful things about a whisky highball is that it slips down as easily as beer. This gives us whisky lovers a refreshing whisky-based drink for all sorts of different occasions—at the bar with friends after work, on a warm day, parties, receptions, even with food (particularly Asian food). We believe it is time for a renaissance of the Highball”

Other media on Great King St.

http://www.thewhiskywire.com/2011/07/great-king-street-artists-blend.html