PBMichiganWolverine
Compass Box The Story of the Spaniard
Blended Malt — Scotland
Reviewed
January 27, 2019 (edited October 15, 2022)
I’m a huge fan of John Glaser and his entire vision of taking blends that result in a sum greater than its individual parts. This is a new addition of their core range, and very reasonably priced as well. My pour was a mere $5, but I think the bottle is maybe $40. At that price range, it’s squarely competitive with the likes of JW range (not the Blue or Platinum obviously), as well as Famous Grouse and a few others. I sort of wonder if it’s cannibalizing on its own Great King St series. Probably not, since this is a sherried version. So...at the onset, you immediatley get grain sherried notes—-grape skins and almonds. Taste is mild milk chocolate, hazelnuts , some dried fruits. A high grain component versus the malt. This is a great whiskey to have on your shelf for friends and family that aren’t used to stronger Islays or Islanders, or wouldn’t really appreciate the top shelf single malts. And honestly, at $40, it’s really a good uncomplicated whiskey.
5.0
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per
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@Richard-ModernDrinking @LeeEvolved yeah I’m not sure I’d be interested in Juveniles either. Any bespoke bottling of CB is good, but overpriced. Instead, the limited editions are excellent ( with No Name being my favorite )
Cheapest I see is $55.
@Rick_M @SolanaRoots - I’ve passed on the Juveniles because it’s a $100+ bespoke bottle and I haven’t had much luck from CBW with those. The Bounty Hunter was extremely overpriced and the King St Marrying casks weren’t worth the extra cash. The Spaniard fills a whole in their core range and at a reasonable price, but like I said in my review- I don’t feel like I need to keep it on hand for myself or friends. There’s plenty of other whisky that does the same thing for a similar price.
@Rick_M Definitely mixed reviews on the Spaniard bottle but curious why you’ve passed on the Juveniles
I’ve passed on this and the CB Juveniles to date. Waiting to see some a few good reviews before I bite and if I bite.
@LeeEvolved Good to know. If this bottle is truly replacing the Asyla in the core range, then $45-$55 makes sense. Perhaps once the newness wears off the price out here will come down
@SolanaRoots - the $80 price must be a California thing. I landed my bottle for $43 and I see several stores online asking $50-60. I did have to pay $10-12 in shipping costs, but that’s still way below the $80 you see.
Good review :-). Despite the underwhelming reviews I saw a sample and thought might as well. As long as it beats the Asyla I'm happy :-)
@SolanaRoots I could’ve sworn I had seen it for $40. At $65, it’s a whole new tier, and at that price point, personally I think we can do better
Good review. Interesting that you say $40...have only ever seen it here in SoCal for $65-$70 with a few places at $80