Anthology
Compass Box Rogues' Banquet
Blended — Miltonduff, Glen Elgin, Clynelish, and North British, Scotland
Reviewed
June 29, 2020 (edited October 11, 2022)
Review coming soon but wanted to share this as I suspect curious minds would want to know. Recently picked up a bottle CBRB and was curious about the ages of the whiskeys making up this blend. So I wrote CB to get age breakdown info for component parts and here’s what they came back with:
1: Miltondoff (Rechar Bourbon Hogshead - 25Yr, 68.7%)
2: Clynelish (Rechar Bourbon Hogshead - 25Yr; 3.5%)
3: North British (First Fill Bourbon Barrels; 25Yr; 25.6%)
4: Glen Elgin (Recharred Bourbon Barrel; 19Yr; 2.2%)
Gotta say kudos & hats-off to Compass Box for the transparency! We (consumers & collectors alike) mos def need more of that in this space. With skyrocketing prices and no justification prevalent with a lot of OBs and IBs, it’s refreshing to see some accountability, [albeit] with climbing prices for recent CB products. C’est la vie...
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@cascode Thanks for the inside scoop!
@Anthology It's far from a ghost - Miltonduff is a large Speyside distillery but almost all of its output goes into Pernod Ricard blends, notably Ballantines where it contributes a fine, elegant top-note. It's esteemed by blenders for exactly that quality. There are no official bottlings at present, but it is often sold to independent bottlers. I think Gordon & MacPhail have an ongoing licence to bottle a 10 year old.
@Anthology i don’t think it’s a common single malt, rather used more in blends. I did try one...can’t recall anything special about it.
@PBMichiganWolverine Yw...and it would appear so. Most OB single malts at the quarter century mark typically average $250+ on the low side. Speaking of OBs, I did a quick search on Distiller and there are no reviews for an OB Miltonduff, which makes me think it’s only used in blends or is a “lost/ghost” distillery?? I haven’t tried any Miltonduffs (have you?) and don’t have a reference point for what to expect. So I’m looking forward to cracking the bottle at some point and will be sure to let you know my thoughts.
@Anthology thanks for that info! Okay, so for $200, we’re pretty much buying a 25 yr old Miltonduff and North British. A 22yr old Miltonduff goes for $300, while a 20yr North British goes for $100. So...$200 seems quite fair for this,. Would be curious to know your take on the liquid