About This Dram
It’s always fun to get a limited edition Compass Box – and it’s even more fun when it comes out of the blue. As far as I’m aware, this wasn’t meant to launch here until November. I guess we got lucky! The Circle is a very special new whisky from Compass Box, as it’s the first in what is planned to be an annual release. It is also special as it’s the first whisky designed by Rosey Mitchell (I assume). Rosey is the winner of Compass Box’s new international competition – also called “The Circle”. It works with bartenders around the world, and one lucky winner gets to co-design their very own whisky.
Rosey wanted something very particular, which she described as sunshine in a glass. A whisky designed for summertime and sharing with friends. Approachable but in no way simple. This was achieved by using a malt I haven’t seen too often in blends -Tamdhu. In fact, 78.8% of this whisky is that Tamdhu base, alongside Compass Box stalwart Clynelish, and some peated Orkney whisky (the world’s worst kept secret). Let’s see how it came out!
Tasting Notes
Yellow. This whisky smells yellow. Like a golden sunbeam on a hot summer’s day. There is a medley of fruit like apricots, mango, and bananas. Dried grass and honeycomb rounded off the sweet fruits nicely.
On the palate, a distant bonfire danced across the tongue, with vanilla cream wafers and apple jolly ranchers. This is summer in a glass. There’s even a little coconut sunscreen! This is my jam – in fact, I’m calling it now, this is the anthem of the summer!
