Drawing its inspiration from eclectic and sometimes offbeat worlds, the London-based house, founded in 2000 by John Glaser, sets itself apart by constantly renewing the blend genre. The Architectonics blend is a nod to 19th-century industrial architecture. Particularly complex, this version is the result of blending a rich, smooth single malt aged in sherry casks, a peated Islay whisky, a blended malt and softer, fruitier whiskies aged in bourbon casks. Long afterwards, the intensely malty, empyreumatic dry extracts that escape from the empty glass punctuate a nuanced olfactory and gustatory journey.
A blend paying homage to the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, where Whisky Live has been held for a few years now. It features some of Compass Box’s favourite malts, like Laphroaig and Clynelish. Colour: deep gold. Nose: complex, oily, with toasted hazelnuts to start. Then come smoked sesame, lapsang souchong, beeswax, orange peel, dandelion flower, and Ovaltine. Just a hint of juniper. Mouth: a real balancing act, with many different influences (coastal, charcoal, wax, orchard fruits), yet none overpowering the others, though it’s clearly a ‘peated’ whisky at its core. A touch of lemony liquorice too. Finish: long, with lemon, ashes, apples, and a bit of cedarwood. Hints of gentian and verbena in the aftertaste. Comments: a lovely marriage and almost a full panorama of Scotland. It does borrow some traits from Johnnie Green in my book.
