Compass Box Great King Street, 43%, $45
After a series of esoteric and expensive releases, Compass Box has decided to bring it all back to the people with a blend — and how! The journey sets out as we might expect; all sweet vanilla ice cream, stewed pear tart, and peach melba, but then a wave of spice and white pepper provides an unexpected but delightful twist. It’s like Spice Tree meets Hedonism…Spiconism if you like. —Dominic Roskrow
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 91
Hats off to Compass Box! A $45 bottling that gets a 91 rating is definitely worth my attention…especially since I have been a big fan of Spice Tree! Thanks for starting the week off on a positive note, John!
All readers, see my comment, below.
Then see jewmalts.
A great, brass tax, review on this whisky. I had it on the “Whisky on the Hudson” whisky cruise last week and I’d say it was one of the highlights of the night. Sweet, spicy, balanced and completely pleasing!
I have really been anticipating this one and the notes make it sound very promising indeed– I assume the $’s RRP mean that it’s coming to the states?
It’s here! $37 on sale at good whisky shops.
$37? Really? Great bargain. Wow! Might have to definitely pick this up…
AHEM! THIS IS A 50CL BOTTLE! That’s $67.50 for a 750ml bottle. Not so great, in my opinion.
Good eye. Still not an awful price, though, all things considered.
LSD — 500ml is not legal in the US. This is a review of the UK version. The US version is 750ml and you can get it (so far) in NJ/NY for $35-$40. Again, 750ml, NOT 500ml.
why is 500ml not legal but 375, 200, 100, and 50ml are?
(Is this why nikka from the barrel or nikka pure malt isn’t sold here?)
Not sure why I know this but, the 500ml was legal in the US until the mid-90′s or so. Not sure why it’s been made an illegal size but, thems the breaks. When Nikka does come to the US (which is supposed to happen in 2012, or so I’ve heard) the 500ml bottle for the Whisk y from the Barrel is going to be a speed bump for this product in the US. Hopefully they offer a 750 for the US!
weird !
USA is not normal. all those regularions.they suck.
i know most Australian whisky is 500 ml…
For instance: http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/store/pc/COMPASS-BOX-GREAT-KING-BLENDED-SCOTCH-WHISKY-1p16336.htm
Or: http://www.liquoroutletwinecellars.com/sku16430.html
Or: http://www.misterwrightfinewines.com/sku37034.html
$35 – $40… this is a steal.
ShopVin has it for $35, Mister Wright has it for $39 and Liquor Outlet Wine Cellars has it for $37 — all are at 750ml. This is a steal (if you ask me).
$40 and under is a steal. Grab a bottle
I just grabbed two! : ) ($35 each before shipping)
Shoppers Vineyard just put this on sale this week for $31.09
http://www.icontact-archive.com/TfWiFvrku1_aXJYJRHW7tpvFLRKU8_21?w=2
http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/store/pc/COMPASS-BOX-GREAT-KING-BLENDED-SCOTCH-WHISKY-133p16336.htm
Got my bottle from Shoppers. $31 is a steal.
A fantastic blend letting consumers know that not that is golden must be single malt. Excellent job by Glaser at creating another blended expression that is far different than Asyla. Definitely a good pickup.
If I remember correctly the US version is a different blend than the UK one. Might be going crazy but I think that’s what I heard.
Just had a chat with Chris Maybin and it’s a yes and no, depending. The UK version may be a May bottling or a July bottling. The US version is a July bottling. The whisky inside should be the same~ish though.
Any idea about the distribution of this one in the US? Any coming to FL by chance??
I tasted my review sample. Very nice, in an unpretentious way.
I sense a slightly lower score implied, eh john
Hi all, Thanks for all the kind comments on our new Great King Street. We’re very proud of it too!
JewMalt is absolutely right on the sizing (thanks Joshua!) – it is available in the US in 750ml and 375ml formats at an SRP of $45 and $24 respectively, although if you can find it cheaper then snap it up!
In the UK and Europe we are selling Great King Street in rather nice 500ml bottles. As rightly pointed out, 500ml is not a permitted size in the US (bizarrely), hence the reason for the different format.
And just to clarify my chat with InwithBacchus (it was on Twitter so I could not be quite as expansive as I would have liked!) the only differences between GKS in the US and the rest of the world is in the size; the juice us exactly the same.
Saying that, taking the artisanal approach of hand-selecting individual casks (as we do for all our whiskies), there will always be slight differences between each bottling. Which we kinda like. That is what art is about after all
The key thing is that the overall style stays the same – so if you like one bottling of GKS (or any of our whiskies) you will like all of them.
While I’m here, can I heartily recommend you trying a GKS&S (Great King Street & Splash) Highball. John has been studying hard on getting the ideal recipe – this is his favourite so far: 1 part GKS, 2 parts Club Soda, 2 dashes bitters, lemon zest, loads of ice. Stirred to really cold. It’s really good.
cheers
Chris
Thanks Chris!
What bitters Chris?
We’d have a play at trying different things, but our current favourite is Fee Bros Old Fashioned Bitters. Above all, share & enjoy! Chris
James, Sorry, I forgot to answer your question. YES, GKS should be in Florida by the end of the month. We’re trying to get it out as far and wide as possible. Go to your local liquor store and demand it!
Chris
Chris, any idea about going to PA? We don’t have “liquor stores” here per se, just one of the last state monopolies. Thanks!
Hi Sam, I know that our friends in PA are doing some great work promoting (and selling) Compass Box at the moment. I’ll find out about GKS though and get back to you asap!
Sam: maybe a while before it gets to PA, you already know the story, the PLCB is a tough bureaucracy to crack. Its currently spreading quickly throughout NY and NJ, so depending on where you live, you may have to cross a border to find it.
Thanks for letting me know!
This is an Awesome blend. my notes are:
Nose: Vanilla up front, quite lemony, as in lemon pie, or meringue, green apples and maybe some pears too. quite fresh, with some oak notes.
Palate: Creamy, but with a zing of gingery lemon stuff. vanilla custard, and some oriental candy, with bits of almonds, pistachios and sweet sultana towards the end, where a slight alcoholic bite is detected.
Finish : medium,with oak notes (quite some wood here) , almonds , biscuits , and spice. Not very long, but long enough.
At $45 for 750 ml. it’s a STEAL. get 12.
you americans are so lucky.
Gal, have you had the Double Single? I was wondering if it was anything like that. I got notes of lemon, pineapple, graham cracker, pecan and a strong, muscular wood finish on the DS.
Would you compare King St. to a “Spiconism?”
My notes on the DS says : olour : Pale Gold.
Nose: grassy, vanilla, citrus , cloves, vanilla hovering on top. rye notes? , wood , and some coconut.
Palate : Vanilla, cereal grains, fresh hot buns dough, a lot of wood and lemon drops, and a certain fruity quality i cant really put my finger on.
Finish : Medium , with vanilla, lemon , wood and burnt sugar (bitter).
I can get GKS for 37.99 in Gainesville, Fl
I’m sure no offense was intended, but as an English professor and native of Puerto Rico I think it is important to point out that if you want a soft rather than hard “c,” you follow it with an “e.” Hence: “spice,” “dice,” “lice,” mice,” and so on. Whereas a “c” followed with an “o” is a hard “c.” Hence “Soco,” “locomotive,” “vocal,” “rico suave,” etc. So the proper spelling would be “Spice-onism.”
To quit beating around the bush: I don’t think the author intended his Compass Box amalgam to be read “SPICKonism” but it was spelled that way if you use typical pronunciation rules.
No offense implied, and none taken. But I can say, given that I’m a Hispanic whisky lover, that my fellow latin whisky lovers did take note of this and laugh.
Keep up the great work, all.
Hi Guillermo
Golly! I am humbled that a Puerto Rican knows more about my language than I do! I really didn’t see that At all but as a student of Spanish and a lover of Spain and Catalonia, I am sure you understand that it was a genuine error. My excuse? I’m a journalist using a language as close to classic English as Spanish is to Italian. For what it’s worth, a lot of people laugh at my writing! Best regards.