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History In A Bottle Day 16: Compass Box KWM 25th Anniversary Blend

Posted on December 16, 2022

This post is Bonus Content. It has information on one of the KWM Cask bottles that are featured on the back of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar box. You can find the blog post for the mini bottle for Day 16 of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar here.

by Andrew

This is a longer writeup than most of the others, but this is a very poignant whisky for me. I remember the day one of our customers sent me a link to an auction site in the UK. One of our Compass Box KWM 25th Anniversary bottlings sold at auction for nearly £400. Kind of cool, considering that was more than 3 ½ times what we sold them for. The craziest part though was that we still had stock of the whisky on our shelf!

I’ve been a fan of Compass Box for at least the last 15-16 years, and I consider its founder John Glaser to be one of the most influential people in whisky. For a while they were almost singlehandedly making Blended Scotch Whisky sexy and relevant again. I’d be bugging John for years about collaborating to create my own bespoke blend for KWM. In 2016 I was in London to meet with John at their offices when he said: “You have a significant anniversary coming up, don’t you? I think its time we finally make that blend!”

You need to appreciate how much of an honour this was and still is. Compass Box was at the height of their fame, and John was in high demand. Our bespoke blend was one of only a handful ever made for a retailer at this time, and since there haven’t been many more. Though we did get a second… more on that later.

My favourite expressions of Compass Box were Flaming Heart and Spice Tree, so that was the starting point for our creation which was tweaked over the course of a year until it was exactly how we wanted it. At one point we toyed with the idea of adding the line wash from the recent release of The Circus to the blend, but it didn’t quite work out. I love how John knew that something quirky like that would just add to the story of the final product.

In the end, we created an elegant, moderately peated whisky, composed of single malts from Clynelish, Caol Ila, Dailuaine, and Teaninich, blended with grains from Cambus and Cameronbridge. It was a hit, and we still have people asking for it. John wanted to call it the “Fort Whoop Up Blend,” after the notorious whiskey smuggling fort in Southern Alberta I’d told him about at some point. We ended up deciding on the boring and long, but concise: “Compass Box Kensington Wine Market 25th Anniversary Blend.” But John still found a way to include a mention of Fort Whoop Up on the back label (more on our website).

I am grateful for the nearly 20 year long relationship I’ve had with many wonderful people, and firms over the last 20 years. They have been instrumental to my own success, and that of our business. The words on the back of the bottle, still give me goosebumps, coming from someone else in the industry, for whom I hold a great deal of respect:

“We have been fortunate to work with Andrew Ferguson of Kensington Wine Market for many years, bringing our Compass Box whiskies to the Scotch enthusiasts of Canada.

"For years we’ve been talking with Andrew about creating a bespoke whisky for him.  We originally wanted to name it “Fort Whoop-Up”, after the notorious 19th century Alberta trading post, allegedly a centre for whisky smuggling and all sorts of illegal activities, near what is now Lethbridge.

"But with the 25th anniversary of Kensington Wine Market upon us, we’ve decided to name it in honour of the anniversary, so Andrew can showcase the whisky throughout his year of celebrations.

"Developed from an original brief by Andrew, this blend is a showpiece for the deep complexity that well-aged malt and grain whiskies from exceptional oak casks can deliver.  It is composed of one-third decadent old grain whiskies aged in American oak; and spicy, smoky malt whiskies aged in both American oak and sherry casks.  The combination is rich and complex, with the soft cushion of the old grain whisky providing an indulgent base on top of which the bold, smoky and dark fruit notes of the malt whiskies are placed.

"We believe this whisky is a fitting tribute to Kensington Wine Market and also to Alberta’s long history of enjoying, exploring and indeed smuggling fine whisky!  But with partners as committed and knowledgeable as Kensington Wine Market in place there will be no need to smuggle this bottle into the province – and for that we are all grateful!

"However you source this whisky, wherever you drink it, whoever you share it with, above all, please share and enjoy."

John Glaser

Founder & Whiskymaker”

Compass Box Whisky Company

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Compass Box KWM 25th Anniversary Blend

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: silky and sultry, soft vanilla and Earl Grey tea creme brule; savoury hints of pork belly, mouth watering gentle peat and salted caramel; clean tendrils of Manuka honey a touch of beeswax. 

Palate: rich, fruity and smoky with building spice, rich dried fruits and dark chocolate; lots of layers, the decadent spices being the most dominant, followed by dried fruits: ranging from apricots and pineapple to raisins and figs; there is a touch of cocoa powder, bees wax and more indulgent Earl Grey infused creme brule; the grain adds a silky backbone that contrasts nicely with the touch of pork belly and soft ashy peat.

Finish: coating, creamy and decadent; the palate stays warm in the lingering light of fading spices, genteel ashy smoke and soft fruits.

Comment: we were hoping for a whisky that combined the firm peat of Flaming Heart, the rich spices of Spice Tree and the elegance of Compass Box's legendary older expressions; we got all that and more!

John Glaser's Tasting Note

"Rich and complex, with the soft cushion of decadent aged grain whisky providing an indulgent taste on top of which the bold, spicy and dark fruit notes are able to shine."

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Five years have passed since we launched the 25th Anniversary Blend, and it is still one of the highlights of my nearly 20-year career in the industry. We still get requests for it, and while it is long sold out, earlier this year we had the opportunity to do it again, collaborating with Compass Box to create another whisky to mark our 30th Anniversary. I remember the importer telling me that when it launched he was inundated with requests from other Canadian retailers who also wanted their own Compass Box Blend. Turns out it is not something they do very often, let alone twice for one humble shop in Calgary. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from knowing you’ve provoked attempts at imitation and or envy in your competition…

Andrew Ferguson

Owner

Kensington Wine Market

This entry was posted in Whisky, KWM Whisky Calendar 2022, KWM Single Cask

 

 

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