Tuesday, May 03, 2016

COMPASS BOX LAUNCH TWO NEW LIMITED EDITION BLENDED WHISKIES

Compass Box, one of Scotland’s leading artisan whisky makers, has announced the launch of two new limited edition blended Scotch whiskies.

Compass Box ‘The Circus’ (49% ABV) limited to 2,490 bottles, is composed predominantly of old parcels of blended Scotch and blended grain whisky that had been blended then aged in cask for several years. The blend also includes a small proportion of single malt whisky from the Glen Ord distillery.
Compass Box 'The Circus' and 'Enlightenment'

The last time Compass Box released a comparable whisky was in 2014, when ‘The General’ was widely praised as one of the standout releases of the year.

Compass Box ‘Enlightenment’ (46% ABV) limited to 5,922 bottles, is a blend of malt whiskies from the Clynelish, Glentauchers, Balblair and Mortlach distilleries. 

The name ‘Enlightenment’ is said to come predominantly from the fact that the whisky is incredibly light and bright in style, but Compass Box say they’d be lying if they said there wasn’t another message there too.

Earlier this year Compass Box launched their Scotch Whisky Transparency Campaign to update regulations which currently prohibit producers sharing details of the ages of the component whiskies that go into their blends. To date over 7,000 whisky enthusiasts and a number of other independent producers have publicly voiced their support for the Compass Box Scotch Whisky Transparency.

Commenting on the launch, Compass Box Founder, John Glaser, said: “By law, we’re not allowed to tell customers the age of the component whiskies used to create Enlightenment. We can tell you that you will find a bright apple and pear quality on the nose, soft spice and light citrus fruit notes on the palate with a mouth-watering finish full of an alluring apple peel waxiness.  We can tell you the casks the whisky was matured in - but crucially we can’t tell you how long for.”

He went on to say: “We were attracted to certain themes from the Age of Enlightenment – the questioning mind-set that epitomises that era, the way the traditional orthodoxy was challenged and broken down through logic rather than brute force. People will draw their own conclusions about the name but let’s just say it seemed a fitting one for us.”

Compass Box ‘The Circus’ and ‘Enlightenment’ will be available from specialist retailers later this month for the respective RRP’s of £190.00 and £60.00.

Posted by Steve Rush