A new Compass box whisky is always a reason to get excited, at least around here at Whisky Israel Towers. This time around we’re talking Blended whisky (a mix of Grain whiskies and Malt whiskies), rather than the usual Blended Malt (which contains only a mix of Single malts from various distilleries). The whisky was announced only some weeks ago and is the latest limited edition release from CB called : Delilah’s XXV. The whisky is named after Chicago’s famous punk rock whisky bar, Delilah’s, the new Scotch Whisky is the result of a second collaboration between owner Mike Miller and Whisky maker John Glaser. In celebration of the bar’s forthcoming 25th Anniversary in August, the whisky is based around a parcel of the original Compass Box Delilah’s blend released in 2013.
John Glaser and Miller first collaborated to honor the 20th Anniversary of Delilah’s in 2013 when the two created a whisky with a twist on more traditional Scotch. The result was a style of whisky equally suited to sipping neat and served as a shot with a great beer – the way a lot of whisky is enjoyed at Delilah’s. The original recipe combined single malt and single grain whiskies aged in a mix of experimental new American oak barrels, which gave it a pronounced sweetness. While the majority was bottled for the limited edition release, Glaser returned a small parcel of this Blended Scotch Whisky to casks for further maturation. When talks of the bar’s 25th anniversary celebrations began, the pair knew just where to start.
After aging for a further five years in cask, this parcel forms the base of the new recipe. Miller suggested adding malt whisky aged in Spanish Sherry casks, also made of American oak, to complement the rich vanilla and toffee character the original parcel developed over the past five years.
As always Compass box are willing to reveal quite a lot of information about the make of the blend (under SWA law they can not state the ages of each ingredient, but if you drop them an email, they will tell you exactly what’s inside – as SWA laws allow) , I’ve attached a diagram of the blended ingredients below:
This special edition is bottled at 46% ABV, a total of 8,520 bottles of Delilah’s XXV are available worldwide –at £100 / $100 SRP.
