Compass Box The General

Compass Box is a London-based independent bottler and blender of Scotch whisky, founded in 2000 by John Glaser. Glaser, a former marketing director at Johnnie Walker and Diageo, established the company with the goal of creating innovative and high-quality blended whiskies. They focus on non-chill filtered whiskies, without added coloring, and often utilize American oak for maturation. 

The company’s first release was the blended grain whisky Hedonism, which gained recognition as the World’s Best Grain Whisky in 2008. Other notable Compass Box whiskies include Hedonism, The Peat Monster (originally The Monster), and The Spice Tree. The Great King Street range, including Artist’s Blend and Glasgow Blend, was introduced later. 

In 2015, Bacardi became a minority shareholder in Compass Box, further expanding the company’s reach. In 2022, Caelum Capital acquired a majority stake, with Maurice Doyle becoming CEO and Glaser remaining in a guidance role. John Glaser recently stepped down as chief whisky maker, with James Saxon taking over. 

Two parcels of whisky are in this one blend, made up of whiskies which had been blended at a young age and then left in casks for a very long marriage time. We know that one of the parcels was 33 years old, the other an undisclosed age. With a bit of Compass Box magic the two were blended together to produce The General. John Glaser describes the whisky as having an “antique character lovers of old whiskies will seek out”.

Bottled: 11.2013

53.4% ABV / 70cl

Bottle Number: 849 / 1698

Please note some wax seals are prone to cracking in varying temperatures and transport conditions, therefore - as stated in our terms and conditions - we do not accept liability should these seals be found to show signs of splitting on delivery.

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