Compass Box

Highland blend with a clove and fruity character.

If you ever make your way through the dusky maze of pub paved streets in London, you may find yourself looking at a seemingly incongruous Scotch joint. Compass Box was founded in 2000, by Whisky visionary John Glaser, in London England. After a go at the Wine industry, he took a shot at Whisky, working for Diageo. Compass Box is not a distillery, but a blender of fine Scottish Whiskies. Glaser combines the creme de la creme of casks from Islay and Speyside, to the Highlands.

The Compass Box crew are notorious for challenging the status quo, striving to push the boundaries of experimentation without sacrificing quality or taste.

Seemingly uninhibited by the formidable Scottish Whisky industry, Glaser brings a fresh perspective to the art of Whisky making, shifting paradigms…stickin' it to the man. But this visionary spirit comes at a price, let's not forget, Galileo was convicted of heresy and persecuted.

In 2005, Compass Box had a tasty controversy on their hands; their Spice Tree blended malt. The release was a blended Whisky made using inner staves, or wooden slats inserted into the casks to enhance flavor. Wine-makers use this technique as a more economical way to add oak flavour wine.

Oak Cross is a Highland blend from their Signature Range of Compass Box with a clove and fruity character. It's comprised of 60% fruity malt Whisky from the villages of Brora, 20% meaty malt Whisky from the village of Carron, and 20% fragrant malt Whisky from Alness. For the primary maturation stage, all of the Whiskies are aged in a variety of American oak and French casks. 60% of this blend is then re-casked in Glaser's distinct hybrid casks.