Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Compass Box Whisky’s John Glaser talks Scotch

Matt Domino
By

compass box whisky john glaser talks scotch
Image used with permission by copyright holder
It may be a well known fact that, when it comes to liquor, bourbon works for any occasion. However, very often a well-made Scotch can be a man’s best friend. In order to get the latest from the world of Scotch, The Manual managed to chat with John Glaser, the founder of specialist Scotch whisky maker, Compass Box Whisky. Taking a break from his busy schedule in England, John gave us all the inside information we needed for when it’s time to pick up the next bottle.

THE MANUAL: Why did you decide to get into Scotch?

Recommended Videos

I set out on a plan to make a living in the wine business and I was then offered a job at what I thought was the perfect company, although their offer was a job on their spirits side rather than the wine side.  The offer was a job in marketing for Johnnie Walker. I thought I’d take the job and eventually work my way onto the wine side. But once they sent me to Scotland, and once I set foot into distilleries there and began to learn about Scotch whisky, I fell in love.  For many of the reasons I loved wine, I fell in love with Scotch. That was 18 years ago.

Related

TM: What do you think the key to a good Scotch is?

The simple key to a good Scotch whisky is the ability of it to call you back to the glass. If you are compelled to take another sip, if the whisky is providing you a degree of pleasure which compels you back to the glass, you have discovered a good Scotch.

TM: What are some of the evolving techniques in Scotch making that you reference on your website?

Oak maturation is where we focus most in terms of evolving techniques. When I came into the Scotch whisky business, the oak casks used for aging Scotch were considered little more than storage vessels. Coming from the wine business I found this strange. And when you consider that more than half the flavor of a well matured whisky comes from the wood, it simply stands to reason that you need to pay attention to the quality, and type of cask you use. We borrow a lot of learning and a lot of techniques from the wine business when it comes to oak aging.

TM: For someone who isn’t fluent in Scotch-tasting, what is the first thing they should be looking for when tasting?

The first thing anyone should look for in a Scotch whisky at a tasting is whether or not they find the aroma and flavor of each whisky appealing or not.  There are not right or wrong answers when it comes to deciding what you like.  And with Scotch whisky, owing to the fact there are over 100 distilleries operating today, each making a whisky that is different, there is a broader spectrum of flavor than any other type of spirit in the world.  There literally is something for just about everyone.

TM: What kind of flavors or approaches separate Compass Box from a traditional brand like Laphroiag or Macallan?

We use types of oak casks that no one else in Scotland uses. The flavors that set us apart the most from the traditional brands are those that come from our casks: flavors that will remind you of vanilla, toffee, coconut, baking spices, even grilled marshmallow! You’ll actually find aromas and flavors in some of our whiskies that will remind you of those things, owing to the type and quality of oak casks we use.

TM: What should a consumer look for when they are deciding to buy a Compass Box Scotch or a Scotch in general?

Forget about whether or not a Scotch is a blend or a single malt or whatever. Don’t buy into the single malt myth of superiority. As in wine, seek out the producers with the best reputation, regardless of what category of Scotch whisky they are producing. Combine this strategy with identifying the styles or the key flavors you like. (Keep notes of the specific bottlings you’ve tried and liked and why—note what the key flavors reminded you of.)  Then, take this information to a great spirits/whisky retailer and have a blast!

Editors' Recommendations

Matt Domino
Matt Domino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Matt Domino is a writer living in Brooklyn. His fiction has appeared in Slice and The Montreal Review, while his non-fiction…
The Final Game of Thrones Single Malt Whisky Is Better Than the Series Finale
game of thrones bran stark

Game of Thrones is finally over after a series finale last spring that disappointed many and thrilled a few others. Now, the Game of Thrones series of single malt whiskies from Diageo is coming to a close as well and hopefully, this expression will be better received than Bran the Broken as ruler of the Six Kingdoms. (I mean, come on, he gets to be king while Jon Snow has to head beyond the Wall to the frigid north again and Arya takes a ship to who knows where?)

Six Kingdoms Mortlach Aged 15 Years will be available beginning this December, a tribute to the Three-Eyed Raven, aka the space-and-time-traveling Greenseer, aka the eternally spaced out Brandon Stark. The whisky itself is 15 years old, aged in first-fill sherry-seasoned casks and finished in ex-bourbon barrels, imparting it with vanilla and spice flavors "befitting of those with a noble palate," according to the brand. It has a strong, commanding nose and notes of oak and dried fig on the palate and is bottled at 46% ABV and will be available for an SRP of $150.

Read more
Old Pulteney Relaunches With New Design and Whisky Lineup
Old Pulteney 12

Old Pulteney is a Highlands single malt distillery on the Caithness coast that may not have as much name recognition as big players like The Macallan or Glenfiddich. But this smaller operation, nicknamed "the Maritime Malt" due to its close proximity to the ocean, does produce some very fine whiskies. The core lineup has just been relaunched in the U.S. with redesigned bottles and a few brand-new expressions joining the flagship 12-year-old: Old Pulteney 15, Old Pulteney 18, and the NAS Huddart. Distillery Manager Malcolm Waring recently described these four whiskies as highlighting various defining characteristics of the distillery: The 12 focuses on the influence of the sea, the 15 showcases the influence of warehouse maturation (as opposed to wood), the 18 proves that the location in the warehouse where the whisky matures has an effect, and Huddart adds a touch of peat to the mix.

Previous

Read more
Bruichladdich Distillery Unveils its New Octomore Scotch Whisky Series
Octomore 10s Lineup 2019

Bruichladdich is a modern distillery using old equipment that tends to do things a bit differently than its contemporaries. It's located on Islay, an island just off Scotland's west coast that is known for its big, peaty single malts. The eponymous core whisky from Bruichladdich is actually unpeated, with some expressions in this range really focusing on the concept of terroir by using barley from a single farm, or only from Islay itself. The Port Charlotte range, though, is heavily peated, sort of an homage to what people have come to expect from Islay whisky. But the annual Octomore series, now in its tenth edition, is where the distillery really gets a chance to experiment with terroir, cask type, age, and peat levels.

The new Octomore 10s series may not reach the lofty 300-plus PPM peat level of releases past, but that's not the point here. As head distiller Adam Hannett put it, Bruichladdich has moved on from releasing "peat monsters" in the Octomore range to toying with the "impossible equation" of making whisky that shouldn't work based on its age, strength, and still aggressive peat levels.

Read more