Compass Box Whisky Co. and The Whisky Shop Achieve Whisky Tasting ‘World Record’
2 Great Men, 3 Great Whiskies, 8 Great Whisky Shops, 24 Hours, 683 miles!
To mark the arrival of their trio of award-winning whiskies – Great King Street, The Spice Tree and The Peat Monster – across the 19-strong empire of Whisky Shops, boutique whiskymaker Compass Box embarked on a journey from Inverness to Brighton, via 8 cities, 8 Whisky Shops and 8 different tastings, sort of setting a whisky tasting world record (of a kind) and raising money for charity along the way.
Whisky Shop Managing Director, Andrew Torrance, explained: ‘We are delighted to list the Compass Box range in our stores from Spring this year. When we were discussing a launch plan we thought the best way to bring the magic of these whiskies to our consumers was of course to let them taste the product. What better way to do that than in one day! Inverness to Brighton in one day. Like all the best ideas, it was hatched over a good dinner and a glass of whisky.’
As four-time winners of ‘Whisky Innovator of the Year’, Compass Box is no stranger to uniquely ambitious ideas. But is this the most extreme thing Compass Box Founder and Whiskymaker, John Glaser, has ever agreed to do in pursuit of his art? “I have to admit to staying up pretty late a few times in support of our whiskies, but usually this take places in a very civilised bar rather than a van.”.
At each venue, Dominic and John illustrated Compass Box’s unique approach to whiskymaking with a tasting of the Great King Street – Artist’s Blend, Spice Tree and Peat Monster, while focusing on a different side of the world of whisky. They served variations on the whisky Highball and spoke about the history of blended whisky.
In London we got to try 3 cocktails and 5 whiskys! The cocktails were called “Great King Roy”, “The John Glaser” and “Spice & Stormy”. The whiskys I tried were the three and Orangery.
What did they taste like? Well, I was rushed but here is what I got down:
Great King Street – sweet nose , fruits, light – not much burn – slightly peaty – mild – fruity
Spice tree – mild scent – fruity – hard – mild smoke but sweet
Peat monster – peaty nose – heavy peat – too much
Orangery – orange nose – sweet orange – lovely sweet fruit – easy to drink
All in all not only is Compass Box a great whisky company, they are constantly doing really interesting things in the name of whisky. In the hearts and minds of many whisky lovers this was a world record – too bad Guinness couldn’t keep up!
