ctbeck11
Compass Box Great King St Artist's Blend
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
March 8, 2021 (edited March 30, 2021)
Nose - apple, pear, honey, vanilla, floral notes, lemon zest, powdered sugar, hay, orange blossom, buttered bread, moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - apple skin, honey, creamy vanilla, pear, black pepper, floral notes, lemon and orange zest, ginger, mint, bitter herbal notes, butter, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with apple, black pepper, bitter herbal, and tannic apple skin flavors.
I wanted to like this more, given the glowing reviews I’ve read about it. Artist’s Blend is light, fruity, and floral on the nose. The palate is similar, but more pepper and bitter herbal notes appear. I think this is sippable, but it’s not a sipper. It’s not sulphuric, meaty, or industrial like some of the cheap blended scotches, but those apple skin tannins and bitter herbal notes become rather unpleasant the more I work through the dram.
As a mixer, this performs nicely. However, I’m not sure it’s worth paying $40 a bottle for this when Dewar’s and some of the other usual suspects can be had for half the price. This is absolutely better than Dewar’s and I’d much rather sip it, but I know I’m never going to use this as a sipper.
I haven’t performed the comparison yet, but in the realm of cocktails, I wonder whether it’s worth paying the premium for this over something like Dewar’s. Maybe some of you blended scotch cocktail experts out there can tell me I’m crazy and using that Dewar’s swill is tantamount to sacrilege. Is the quality of mixed drinks this will produce worth paying twice the price to achieve it?
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@cascode Awesome. I’ll look for some of the others you listed below. And that’s really interesting. I’ve never heard of a blended scotch that only includes outputs from the same distillery.
@CKarmios BTW, to me Loch Lomond Reserve is very reminiscent of what Teacher's Highland Cream blended scotch was like 30 years ago, before Beam Suntory ruined it. Modern Teachers is not worth drinking.
@CKarmios It's a little-known budget gem. @ctbeck11 No, they are different things. Original is their budget NAS single malt while Reserve is their budget blended scotch. Loch Lomond distillery is a huge factory and they run a variety of different stills including pot stills, pots with plated and open column tops, and regular columns. They produce all the components for the blended scotch in-house which is unique, I think. Other blends are made from malt and grain whisky sourced from multiple sources, but Loch Lomond is entirely produced at the one site. Although it’s not an official designation, you could call it a “single blend”. If you can’t find Loch Lomond Reserve try looking for High Commissioner, Clansman, Glen Catrine or Scots Earl scotches. They are all more or less the same thing. This diagram https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CPf4Zl-X_lo/XqcI1nYSpMI/AAAAAAAE8iU/-1le3wemZsIdw3LtH2eAumME3nPpqNYDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/qolq1jri0mr21.jpg shows how the different Loch Lomond still outputs are combined to create some of their range of whiskies.
@cascode Funny you should mention LL Reserve; I’ve been sipping and enjoying it - at €11 per 70cl bottle!
@cascode Thanks for the recommendation! It doesn’t look like the Reserve is anywhere near me. Looks like I can find the Original though. Do you know what is the difference? Maybe the Reserve is a non-US release?
Yeah this is an OK blended scotch but it's not really sipping whisky, and both it and the Glasgow blend have been over-hyped (so has Monkey Shoulder). As an all purpose VFM mixer it's hard to beat Loch Lomond Reserve.
@Cornmuse I actually prefer Dewars 12 as a mixer or sipper.
CB Artist Blend is fine for a highball - ginger ale or soda. I think Monkey Shoulder is better in a Rob Roy, Rusty Nail, etc. Having said that, I think Dewar's 12 is just as good as a mixer, is a few $ less and has a touch of smoke, which I like in scotch mixed drinks. I agree, this misses the mark as a sipper.
@WhiskeyLonghorn I can see that. I read somewhere that Monkey Shoulder was designed primarily as a mixer at upscale bars.
@WhiskeyLonghorn Ah I completely forgot about Monkey Shoulder. The price on that one has increased near me recently, but it’s still a few dollars cheaper than Artist’s Blend and I think it just slightly edges it out for me.
@CKarmios Same. I make Rusty Nails fairly often, but not much past that.
I used this one for mixing, and while it was damn tasty, not twice as tasty as a cheaper mixer. I go for Monkey Shoulder on the rare chance I’m mixing scotch at home. This bottle does get creamier with air however, making it an excellent summer sipper.
My gut feeling says no, it’s not worth it but then again very rarely do I mix whisky.