Compass Box Great King St Glasgow Blend

It's that time again. That magical time of year when all the "Best Whiskey of the Year" lists come out. I've been searching around and found that most of these lists consist of highly aged Scotch and limited release or allocated Bourbon, and while I'm sure these drams are delicious, the fact remains that most of us will likely never taste most of these, so over the next five days, I present to you this longhorn's humble top 5 whiskies of 2020. Most of us could agree that this was not our best year. However, all the time spent at home resulted in expanded imbibing of our favorite brown beverage. This is the criteria for my list: (1) The whiskey has to be readily available on store shelves. No special releases. This means the most excellent Wild Turkey Masters Keep expressions I tried and rated this year are out, though you should feel confident to buy on sight. (2) Every dram on my list is $80 or less. Everyone should be able to taste great whiskey, and yes, I realize my definition of "great" might be different than others, but that's the fun of what we all do here, and (3) I had to have tasted it in 2020. None of the whiskies on my list were released this year, but this year is when I finally got around to them. Coming in at #2, I present the only Scotch on my list this year, and a humble blend no less. I'm often asked what my "favorite" scotch is, or what my "favorite" distillery is, or what the "best" value for a good scotch is. There's a different answer to each of those questions, and it doesn't always stay the same. I pulled back from buying as much single malt this year because of the damn import tariffs here in the USA, and stuck mainly to my bottles of Glendronach and Ardbeg I had purchased last year, while purchasing mainly North American spirits. After a lengthy period of Bourbons, Ryes, and Canadian whiskies, I started to take another look at the blended scotch section at the store, which hadn't been impacted by tariffs. Compass Box was an early favorite of mine when I was first exploring scotch, and this bottle may be their best offering of any of their products. Peat? Check. Sherry? Check. Malt? Check. Grain? Check. This bottle quite literally is the "compass" to the four corners of Scotch whisky. Got a friend that wants to get into scotch? Tell them to buy this bottle, and then whatever flavors they like, you can point them further in that direction. Plus, it's just a delicious whisky, which of course is what John Glaser was going for in the first place. #2 whiskey of the year for 2020 is the Compass Box Glasgow Blend. Special thanks to @ScotchingHard for putting this one on my radar this year. Cheers!

N: Smoke, peat, peat smoke, sea spray. Smoked meat. Salted fruits, if that's a thing. Fruit is mostly red, but there are hints of citrus and maybe banana dropping in and out. Leather and earth combine in a way that reminds of dry tobacco. There might be an almond nuttiness in it too - not sure about that one. P: It's an ambush! Feels like everything hits almost all at once. Salty and sweet just barely lead the charge. The salt is a sea spray type salt with a subtle meaty, earthy, smoky undertone. It's combined with the sweet, which is very red fruity and ranges from something almost like fresh strawberries to dried cranberries. The effect is, again, salted fruits. I don't hate it though. Before you've figured out the salted fruit opening, you're hit mid-palate with a rich caramel, chocolate, hazelnut attack. The salt carries through, so all those things are of the salted variety. There's a slight baked goods feel to it too. The finish starts about the same time as the mid-palate taste and merges into the baked goods adding heat and cinnamon. The salt and smoke fade some, but the chocolate lingers deep into the finish, so you get a sort of chocolate swirled cinnamon roll with just the right amount of ethanol heat. This is my 2nd review of this bottle. In between the two, I had COVID and lost my sense of smell for a while (taste was not lost, but reduced to simple things like salty, sweet, bitter, etc.). I bought this and another redo bottle thinking I'll re-review without reading my previous review first and see if my senses of smell and taste are back in full force and can be trusted again. After spending some time with this fantastic dram, I think I know without even comparing the reviews. What I recall from my first review of this bottle was that I was a bit overwhelmed by the smoke (high percentage of Lagavulin, if I recall correctly - something very smoky anyway). I also remember my more recent review of the Artist's Blend from the same Great King Street series. In that review, I said something along the lines of the Artist's Blend having a more complicated nose than palate, and that that was okay at times. This Glasgow Blend proves the opposite can also be true. I still find the nose to be dominated by the smoke and a bit one-note in that way, even if I did find something more this time. The palate here, however, is complex, phenomenal, and delicious in a way that more than makes up for a softer nose. My only complaint, if it even counts as a complaint, is that ambush feeling of the palate. A little slower presentation of the flavors would likely allow even more to come out and elevate this dram. But I can't really make that complaint in earnest for a $40 bottle that contains juice from some fantastic houses. This is a great whisky and a great value.

Nose after 20 min rest: Smoke is dominant followed by chocolate, apricot, pear, mint, apple, vanilla, clove Taste: begins with sweet smoke and fruit, apple and pear, then some vanilla a touch of orange, cinnamon and clove. Ends slightly buttery smoke moderately long finish.

The aroma is mild, sweet. On the palate there's some nice smoke, some peat, marasachino cherries, and light fruits. The finish is warm, moderately long, and smokey. A few drops of water opens up the flavours a lot. It's hard to think of this as a blend, it's amazing.

Low abv, sweet, Peaty and Smokey very strong

Peat and sweet. Simple, oily, light

First nose of this reveals an impactful peat smoke, yet rounded and delicate. The same softness I get with a Bowmore or Talisker. Let it sit for a bit and the malt starts to take over, followed by orchard fruits. Wonderful so far. Palate is quick to deliver a hint of sweetness, followed by gobs of malted barley. It then rolls into smokiness, which then leads you to source of that smoke.. more peat. It changes again (too quick) into peppery notes and baking spice and is a little more prickly than the nose had you believe. The finish is medium long, with the oak and sherry coming through with just a hint of warmth. Overall this is a delicious whisky for the price, it just shifts gears so fast that I’m not done exploring before it changes again. If you like Peat Monster you will appreciate this as it’s about 1/2 as smoky and more barley forward.. and also so affordable!

N: Peat smoke. That's it. It is a robust peat smoke with what feels like a few layers to it, sometimes more earthy peat, other times more ashy smoke, and occasionally a nice burning wood scent. And, for as strong and overwhelming as the peat smoke is, it is not unpleasant or boring. There is some ethanol as well. As it warms and oxidizes a bit, seems to reveal some fruit notes, but I'm not sure if I'm imagining that or not. (Not imagining: there's a real orchard fruit note in it. Really nice.) P: More peat smoke, but many more layers on the palate: cola, chocolate, peach, and cherry, to start. Thick-cut white bread, like a Texas toast sort of thing. All of this is shot through with the peat smoke - every sip, inhale, and exhale is smoky. And I'm not complaining in any way. A nice, spicy finish builds through the glass. It's a cinnamon spice, but with more heat and power and a lingering hold on the tongue. It is the only taste in this that cuts against the peat smoke and it's a welcome foil and complication. This is a nice, balanced, smoke-forward blend. I really enjoyed it, but there are probably a few smoky single malts at or near the same price that offer a broader range in the nose and palate. Still, it's interesting, tasty, a bit complicated, and feels like it was made with a lot of thought and great care.