Maker: Compass Box, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Age: NAS
ABV: 43%
Appearance: Golden straw, with long elegant legs.
Nose: Classic Scotch blend nose. Toffee, butterscotch candy, lemongrass.
On the palate: Full-bodied and creamy. A little heat, then rich taffy, toffee and assorted hard candies with a soft kiss of peat and a hint of ginger.
Finish: Luxurious finish. The ginger races to the front in the finish, complemented by the peat and the heat. Wonderful.
Parting Words: After my disappointment with White Horse, I wasn’t expecting any more than a pleasant, refreshing dram from this. But now, unfortunately, my expectations of blended Scotch have been raised again. Great King Street is refreshing and easy drinking, as a blend should be, but also complex and interesting. Great King street is put out by American-born John Glaser’s Compass Box Co., creator of a series of great blended malts including the Peat Monster, Eleuthera, Flaming Heart and many, many more. Great King Street is highly recommended.
#1 by Amy Rhoades on January 26, 2012 - 5:20 pm
Is this one of the scotches you’re bringing over to toast Rabbie Burns? Or do you think it would be too much for the women guests?
#2 by Josh on January 27, 2012 - 2:57 pm
I’ll bring flavored vodka for you guys.
#3 by G-LO on January 26, 2012 - 10:22 pm
I bought a bottle of this whisky as a Christmas present for a friend. I took a wee small sample, but alas, after an evening of fish and wine, my taste buds were malfunctioning. The buzz about this whisky has been good, and I have liked all of the Compass Box expressions that I have had so far, so I hope to spend some time with this whisky very very soon. Sounds delicious!
Cheers!
G-LO
PS… Highly amusing Twitter brawl with @whiskeygoldmine today. Heh
#4 by Josh on January 27, 2012 - 9:52 am
It was very good. Might work better as a pre-supper, just-got-home-from-work kind of whisky.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! It’s been a while since I had a good, old fashioned internet fight. Felt good.
#5 by G-LO on January 27, 2012 - 10:57 am
Based upon what I’ve read, that’s what they were going for. A casual, mixer friendly whisky. I have a review of the Asyla posting today. Based upon our respective reviews, I suspect that an Asyla vs. Artist’s Blend dram to dram comparison would be worth undertaking.
#6 by Josh on January 29, 2012 - 6:17 pm
Agreed! Nice write-up btw.
#7 by G-LO on January 30, 2012 - 10:42 pm
Thanks Josh!