The Tasting Panel magazine

AUGUST 2011

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Scotch REpORT Terra Firma L back to by ian Buxton ast issue I reported on two whiskies (Royal Salute Tribute to Honour and Johnnie Walker Diamond Jubilee), both from industry giants and both astronomically expensive. So, this month, I thought I had better return to the planet’s surface and tell you about two very afford- able whiskies from two of the industry’s smaller, but no less interesting, distillers. First up is Compass Box who aren’t actually a distiller as such, more a specialist blender. The company is just ten years old but, under the leadership of the char- ismatic John Glaser has attracted a lot of attention. Now they are on something of a crusade. You may not have noticed that blended scotch was in need of a “re-birth,” but Glaser thinks it requires just that, and he has the product to do it. It’s called Great King Street Artist’s Blend. He tells THE TASTING PANEL that in his view, “This is more than a brand; it’s a mis- sion. A mission to get people—all people—to take a fresh look at blended scotch, to join in the rebirth of the blend: in how blends are made, how they are viewed, how they are consumed.” Now, I’d normally run a mile from a man with a mission, but I’ve tasted the Artist’s Blend and it’s good—very, very good, in fact. Compass Box will launch Artist’s Blend in the next month through their U.S. distribu- tion arm in Manhasset, New York with a suggested retail price of $45. It will feature at the San Francisco and New York Whisky Festivals this fall and be promoted in top mixology accounts in an effort to bring back interest in classic whisky highballs. Trust me, you have to try it. 24 / the tasting panel / august 201 1 My second pick is a single malt from Kilchoman, a little farmhouse distillery on Islay that now seems pretty well established. One of their aims was always to produce a whisky that they describe as “100% Islay,” that is to say from barley grown, malted, distilled and then warehoused entirely on Islay—and now they’ve done it. It’s been something of a struggle for founder Anthony Wills (who has two further U.S. sales trips slated this year), so he could be forgiven a few tears and a slight choke in his voice when he proudly told me, “I set this project up because I wanted to do things slightly differently, and show the world we could produce a single malt where all the ingredients were produced locally,” suggest- ing that raising the funds and setting up the distillery had been a “monumental journey.” With its soft peaty aromas and a blend of citrus, lemon and pear drops on the nose followed by sweetness, more soft peat and mixed fruits in the taste and finish, Kilchoman Inaugural 100% Islay is a beguiling delight. Available this August through ImpEx Beverages Inc. of South San Francisco, CA (SRP $100).

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