Compass Box Announces The Circle No. 2 Limited Edition
Compass Box has announced The Circle No. 2, the second limited edition blended Scotch whisky to emerge from Compass Box’s global bartender competition, The Circle.
British bartender Mannie Monaghan won the 2019 competition and earned the prize of collaboration with the Compass Box whiskymakers. To create The Circle No. 2, Monaghan tapped into the phenomenon known as synesthesia, which is defined as a blending of the senses, such as hearing shapes or smelling colors. Monaghan asked the Compass Box team: “Is it possible to make a whisky that evokes the color coral?”
Over two sessions, Monaghan, a synesthete himself, joined lead whiskymaker James Saxon in the Blending Rooms. Not synesthetic himself, Saxon relied on Monaghan to identify parcels of whisky with coral-like qualities, scouring the shelves for samples with the intensity and beauty that matched the color in Monaghan’s mind.
The recipe for Compass Box The Circle No. 2 follows:
- Glen Elgin single malt matured primarily in Recharred American Oak Barrels (50.4%)
- Speyburn single malt matured in a Refill Hogshead (17.3%)
- Teaninich single malt matured in a First Fill Sherry Butt (13.5%)
- Linkwood single malt matured in a Refill Puncheon (ex-STR Barrique) (2.3%)
- Ardmore single malt matured in a First Fill Sherry Hogshead (2.2%)
- Blended Scotch Parcel matured primarily in a First Fill Sherry Butt (14.3%)
Bottled non chill-filtered and of natural color at 46% ABV, Compass Box The Circle No. 2 is described as having aromas of “bright pineapple and stewed peach,” with notes of “vanilla, honey, and sultanas soaked in Cognac” on the palate.
Compass Box The Circle No. 2 is limited to only 3,113 bottles worldwide and will be available in the U.S. beginning in July for a suggested retail price of $130.
Photo credit: Compass Box.
Source: Compass Box.