Line Up #31 : Compass Box, an exploration

25 February 2025. 

 

A bit of History : 

Compass Box was created in 2000 by an American entrepreneur, John Glaser, who had previously worked for Johnnie Walker as International Marketing Director. Although John Glaser is an American citizen, Compass Box is British, make no mistake. It is based in Richmond, just outside London City.

                                            John Glaser

From the outset, the principle has been to create whiskies that are accessible to all, and to achieve this, the blending method is essential. Blending allows to create products that are not too strong in character and that develop a fine balance. Legend has it that John Glaser made his first Blends at home, in his London flat.

Success came with The Spice Tree and especially The Peat Monster, their best-seller, and now they are a well-respected company, even though they only make Blends. They are unique in their genre, the only ones to make quality blends, and only with Scotch whisky, in the world of whisky.

The reason I'm talking about Compass Box today is that John Glaser left his post in May 2024. The origins of this departure can be traced back to May 2022, when Compass Box, which until then had been entirely independent, opened up its capital to Caelum Capital Limited, which became the majority shareholder. Previously, Compass Box had been a small, rather artisanal team with an experimental vocation. Since then, it has become a big machine with a well-oiled growth plan and an investment of several tens, if not hundreds, of millions of US dollars. Maurice Doyle and then Nishat Gupte were successively appointed CEO to replace John Glaser, and as far as Blending was concerned, James Saxon took over. James Saxon joined the company in 2019, and had already been involved in the manufacture of several products.

Recently, some of Compass Box's flagship products have been withdrawn from the Core Range, such as The Spice Tree and The Story of the Spaniard. Others have taken their place, demonstrating a real new direction. The aim is to internationalise the brand and conquer the Asian, American and travel-retail markets, by emphasising product storytelling and strong identities: smoke, pastry, sherry and so on. John Glaser was already doing this, but in a more subtle and nuanced way, favouring the complexity of the products and the uniqueness of the blend.

The Line Up Concept : 

In this context, the identity of Compass Box raises questions. My role is not to complain about Compass Box's direction, but to assess whether its products are still worthwhile from the point of view of the enlightened enthusiast.

In this sense, I've combined products from the John Glaser era with those prepared by James Saxon. Is there a noticeable difference? Is one better than the other?

Does Compass Box have the personality to enter the great intercontinental whisky market? The gentlemen at Caelum Capital Limited think so, since they have invested in it, and I hope they are right. But they are financiers, and their answer will inevitably differ from that of the connoisseur, who cares little about the monetary factor and is interested only in the product itself. Will the investments made to internationalise the brand lose its identity?

That's what we're going to see with this short Line Up, which I'm not sure will be truly representative because there aren't many whiskies, but it's already food for thought.

The Tasting :  

Compass Box The Circle Release N°1 : In 2018, a competition was organised between several bar owners to see who could come up with the best blend. This one is the result of that competition. A Circle N°2 was released in 2022.

Very fruity nose with just the right amount of minerality, wax and exotic fruit. Discreet cereals and heather honey. On the palate, also lots of honey and pineapple, vanilla, mirabelle plum pulp, egg custard. Powerful, fairly long finish, charcoal, brown sugar, cinnamon, melting caramel. Score: 88

 

Compass Box The Peat Monster 4th Edition : It's not widely known, but there were 7 limited editions of Peat Monster before it became part of the Signature Range, Compass Box's regular range, and two more afterwards. This one dates from 2016, and is one of the last to be created exclusively by John Glaser.

Very stable nose, good fullness and good balance between peat and fruit. Nice minerality. Liquid honey and limestone on the palate, with a hint of salt. The finish is correct and pleasant, with charcoal, peat, foam and waves. Score: 86

 

Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana : This limited edition dates from 2020 and was made under the direction of James Saxon. As the name suggests, there's Ardbeg in there.

Very Ardbeg on the nose, but fruitier than usual. Limestone and quartz, iodine, sea spray, mirabelle plums and greengages. The palate is full of honey and exotic fruit, banana, mango, papaya and pineapple. Behind, peat and charcoal spices. Long but not very powerful finish, wax and tar, cola, toasted wood. Score: 89

 

Compass Box Flaming Heart 6th Edition : This brand is also one of Compass Box's bestsellers. The first edition was launched in 2006, and the next 5 were the work of John Glaser. Only the 7th was produced by James Saxon, followed by the 8th, due out this year.

A background of boggy peat, and tangy fruits, liquid honey, lemon and pineapple. Creamy vanilla. On the palate, more peat, but there's also something silky and light, with yellow fruit and wax. Quite a long, powerful finish, brown sugar, fuel oil, lychees. Score: 89

Compass Box No Name N°2 : The 3 No Names were launched in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The first two were crafted by John Glaser, the last by James Saxon.

Very costal and fruity peat, iodine, sea spray, mountain honey, lemon pulp, pineapple slices, semi-salted butter. On the palate, fish scales, limestone, gypsum, banana, beeswax. Quite long and powerful finish, peppery, charcoal, cola, wood liqueur, slight hints of bitterness. Score : 88

Compass Box The Peat Monster Cask Strength Origin Story : This is the second Cask Strength version of The Peat Monster, composed by James Saxon.

Very powerful peat, and at the same time evanescent, carried by iodine and sea spray, some white fruit, grapes, lychees, mirabelle plums. On the palate, it's again very fruity, but it doesn't overwhelm the peat, the balance is perfect. The finish is muddy, powerful, long, charcoal-like, deep, hazelnuts, shortbread biscuits and ashy chestnuts. Score: 90

What I gain from it :  

• I've deliberately narrowed my tasting down to peated products almost exclusively. Sorry, but that has to suit my tastes too. That said, there are some very nice non-peated products at Compass Box, including The Spice Tree, which unfortunately seems to have ceased production.

 

• There are differences between the whiskies made by John Glaser and those concocted by James Saxon. I have to say that I prefer James Saxon's whiskies. James Saxon's blends are more straightforward, sharper, even if the balance is always there. John Glaser sought more subtlety and nuance, even to the point of sometimes erasing some of the character features of the distilleries used. That's just my opinion, it's a matter of taste, and everyone can think what they like. In any case, despite these differences, I find the range homogeneous, in the sense that James Saxon's contributions do not distort the brand. It's always about finding a good Blend, something original and balanced.

 

• But John Glaser's first requirement was not to create the perfect balance, it was to make whiskies that were easy to drink, to convert people who weren't necessarily connoisseurs to other whiskies. And that's easier to see with peat, as peated whiskies are often divisive, with many amateurs not liking them, or not liking them very much, and with the peated whiskies from Compass Box, it's clear just how much John Glaser has made peat palatable. First of all, you can't resist his bottles, you always want to take a second or even a third glass. Secondly, the peat is fused with fruit, wax, so many elegant and sophisticated things that you don't really feel like you're drinking peat, even though it is peat. It's not dirty, rustic or powerful, it's just well made, and sometimes even perfect. In this respect, James Saxon is a worthy successor to John Glaser, he continues to make peat sound very classy, even if it's a little more assertive with him, at least with Arcana and The Origin Story. Though it's still discreet.

Conclusion : 

I think Compass Box has managed the transition from John Glaser to James Saxon quite well. The quality is still there, and the brand's principles remain unchanged: balance, quality, with light contrasts, and a profile that must always be pleasant and easy to drink. This is what was demanded with John Glaser, and what is maintained with James Saxon. I don't think the standards have dropped.

 

There are, of course, minor differences in the work of the two whisky makers, but these are insignificant, what transcends them is the profile of the brand, which remains at the forefront. That said, I think that James Saxon's work could be easier to sell internationally. The identity of his creations is easier to identify, it's more sherry, more peat, more fruity, more indulgent, less balanced at all costs. The profile of each whisky is easier to discern, and it's less complex too.

I think we can conclude that the transition has been a success, from a small artisanal company founded by John Glaser, to the international empire that is taking shape. Quality has been maintained, and the company's values have been preserved. Prices haven't changed much either - they're market prices. The connoisseur can therefore be satisfied, as can the financier.

The reservations I have are therefore not linked to the company's development, but to Compass Box's own DNA. If their aim is to introduce people to whisky with products that are easy to drink, why do they only make blends? We all know John Glaser's famous line: ‘Anyone can bottle a Single Cask, but the real skill in Scotch whisky is demonstrated by the blender’. It's pure provocation, of course it's not true. If anyone could bottle a quality single cask, I'd have made several by now, and I wouldn't be here ragging on other people's bottlings. It takes skill, time, daring and a lot of money to make a good whisky, whether Single Cask or Blend. The problem is that with a Blend, you have less of the personality of the distillate, of a distillery. What totally fascinates me about whisky is that each distillery (let's say, each major distillery) has its own character, it can be distinguished from another neighbouring distillery, each distillery tells a story, its own story, the story of its soil, its climate, its environment, its creation and the men who made it. This story is diluted in a Blend. So it may be pleasant to drink, it's seductive, but that's not what whisky is. I mean, it's not quite that. Whisky is about terroir, and where's the terroir in a Blend?

I fully understand that Blend is also part of the history of whisky. Without Blend, whisky wouldn't be where it is today, it was Blend that popularised whisky throughout the world, and made it what it is, the world's greatest spirit. It's also a good thing to preserve this history and enhance it by producing quality Blends. But that's not what really interests me about whisky today, and I don't think I'm the only one. What interests me is getting to the roots of a distillery, discovering its own identity. Springbank, for example, is a distillery like no other, which has never done anything like the others, and its whisky is like no other. It's no coincidence that this distillery is the most respected today. It's because that's what we're looking for. Pure, authentic, uncompromising character. The same goes for the peat. Compass Box makes pleasant peated whiskies, well made, but not so peated. While true peat fans are satisfied with cavernous Peat Bombs, Compass Box makes peated whiskies for people who don't really like peat. But those who really love it, the passionate ones, need more, something less balanced, more assertive.

Compass Box certainly does some nice things, but that's all it does. And that's a shame. That's why I will never consider this company to be fundamental in the world of whisky. Despite all the respect I have for the work of John Glaser and James Saxon, and all the pleasure I get from tasting their products.