The most interesting whisky release of this week for me was the new This is not a luxury whisky from the boutique whiskymaker Compass Box.
It is a blended Scotch inspired by our Belgian artist René Magritte who created the concept piece ‘The treachery of images’ in 1929, better known as Ceci n’est pas une pipe.
Whiskymaker John Glaser explains: “Over recent years, we’ve seen a growing trend in the Scotch industry towards super-premium releases that position Scotch whiskies as ‘luxury goods’ or status symbols to be displayed and traded – rather than as liquids to be consumed and enjoyed. As Whiskymakers, we wanted to release a product that would encourage people to question what it is that makes a luxury whisky a luxury”.
Four parcels of whisky were used to create the blend: 19 year old Glen Ord, 40 year old Girvan and Strathclyde grains, and a portion of 30 year old Caol Ila. It is bottled at 53,1%. Around 5000 bottles will be available in October for around € 200.
ps/ There’s also a new Compass Box Flaming Heart limited edition coming up (around € 140), a blended malt which contains 30yo Caol Ila, 20yo Clynelish and some other Highland malts.