Compass Box releases second Great King Street blend

British bottler Compass Box has introduced a second permanent Great King Street expression, The Glasgow Blend.

Compass Box’s Great King Street The Glasgow Blend whisky is like “no other on the market today”

Described as a blended Scotch whisky “like no other on the market today”, The Glasgow Blend is made from 67% Islay, Highland and Speyside malt whisky, and 33% Lowland grain whisky.

The liquid has been matured in first-fill Sherry casks, first-fill and refill Bourbon barrels and some new French oak as a finish.

Compass Box claims the result is a “rich, round smoky and sherried” whisky that’s a “very different” expression to the fruity Great King Street house style.

John Glaser, founder of Compass Box, said: “Over a year in the making, the Glasgow Blend involved the creation of over 100 recipe prototypes before we finalised it.

“We’ve been trying to make a blended Scotch whisky like no other on the market today, something based on the traditional Scotch whisky styles of peatiness and Sherry cask ageing, but reinterpreted for today’s drinkers who seek out big flavours, complexity and fullness on the palate.

“This is full-on blended Scotch whisky, in all its Sherry-aged, peaty glory, classic in style, updated for today with its flavour intensity and sweetness – part owing to the grain whiskies, part owing to the small amount of French oak finished malt. There is no blended Scotch Whisky quite like this.”

Great King Street The Glasgow Blend will be available from mid-October in the UK and Europe, and from 1 November in North America and other key Compass Box markets, for an RRP of £30/€36/US$25 for a 500ml bottle, or US$45 for a 750ml bottle.