The General and New GBS Member, John Glaser

[DaveOfAtl]

A motley contingent of the GBS took a little field trip this evening to Empire State South, a great restaurant here in Atlanta, which was hosting a meet and greet with Compass Box founder and whisky blender John Glaser. The restaurant was selling most of the Compass Box standard offerings (and the GKS NY and Peat Monster anniversary) by the half oz., 1 oz., and 2 oz. pours as well as cocktails featuring some of these whiskies. Although SmokinJoe chickened out on bringing the OWA/W12 for Glaser to make a custom version of our venerable SB Blend, we had a great time talking to him. The guy is super friendly and is clearly passionate about what he does.

Almost as a joke, I asked Glaser if he brought a flask of The General to share with us. "Absolutely'" he replied and told us he'd be right back. He returned with glasses with small 1 oz. pours of The General for us. He told us the stories of the two casks of 33 year old and 40 year old blended whiskies of unknown provenance used for this bottling, which he acquired from a whisky broker and G&M respectively. The General was by far the oldest whisky I've tasted before and had an incredible antique nose, woody and complex palate, and a long satisfying finish.

By by the end of the evening, John was practically begging to become a GBS member, as evidenced by this picture. He promised to complete the mandatory goat ritual on his next trip.

P.S. BigRich has almost taught SmokinJoe how to say Auchentoshan. There were notes involved.

[MyOldKyDram]

That is awesome.

Well done guys.

[squire]

You guys are an inspiration.

[GaryT]

That was a lot of fun! Nice notes on The General too Dave! I'm definitely not as big on Scotch as bourbon/rye, but that was easily one of the best whiskies I've ever tried. And the blended fish wasn't half bad either!

[Dolph Lundgren]

That's awesome. John Glaser just seems like an all around amazing dude. That, and he blends fantastic whisky.

[BigRich]

That's awesome. John Glaser just seems like an all around amazing dude. That, and he blends fantastic whisky.

[DaveOfAtl]

Totally true on both accounts. Bruce was there too but he had to roll out before picture time. The only thing funnier than Joe practicing Auchentoshan was he and Dave trying to say Bruichladdich back and forth to each other.

[smokinjoe]

That was a great time, for sure. I've only had a wee bit (pronounced: we) bit of CB whiskies previously, but count me as a member of the fan club, now. The whiskey is indeed, wonderful. Looooved the Peat Monster, and The General was just like David described. I feel privileged to have tried it. But, even though the whiskey was impressive, John Glaser was even more so. What a totally cool and centered guy. Passionate about his work, but unpretentious and easy and comfortable in discussing it with folks like us. I have no doubt that had I brought the SB Blend components, he would have played along and whipped something up. Totally cool dude.

BTW, look for a new thread here in the Foreign Whiskey Section; "Scotch Pronunciations From Dixie." It will be a series of short video clips of David and I sittin' on the back of a turnip truck, dressed in overalls and straw hats, enunciating Scotch names with our appropriate Southern dialect...

Compass Box has asked for sponsoring rights...

Slainte, y'all!

[Yeti]

Very cool encounter! Glaser is one of the rock stars of international whiskey in my eyes. Flaming Heart and the Great King Street New York Blend are both outstanding pours that I've enjoyed this past year. He really knows what he's doing. I've thought a lot about getting a bottle of the General. One of my favorite whiskies was a 48 year old single grain, and I'd like to try some more ancient grain whiskies.

[tanstaafl2]

I think they waited until I departed to take the picture in hopes of not damaging the camera!

Truly a great experience and John was a superb spokesmen for his equally superb brand. And getting a little taste of the General was an unexpected pleasure!

[wadewood]

I've meet John a couple of times at tasting events in Houston; great guy and some great whiskies.

[ChainWhip]

Looks like it was a great time - thanks for sharing and I'm lookin' forward to the ATL method of Scotch Distillery Pronounciation

[flahute]

Cool experience! I bought a bottle of Spice Tree back when I was really getting into whiskey and bourbon last year and it didn't do much for me at first. I revisited it recently and really really enjoyed it - I guess my palate has developed. These guys have my respect for sure.

Glad to hear that the man at the helm is a super cool guy - makes me like it more.

[flahute]

I forgot to ask.....did the General have any peat in the taste?

[Vadertime]

I may or may not be coming thru the ATLarge in early May. It would be swell to swing by with some Kavalan and aged Wild Turkey.

[DaveOfAtl]

I forgot to ask.....did the General have any peat in the taste?

[BigRich]

No peat that I could detect.

Same here.

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[MtnDew]

I'm closing in on trading for a bottle, sounds like it's worth it just to try something different.

I'm very jealous of the time you guys had there, nothing like talking shop with an expert!

[tanstaafl2]

No peat that I could detect.

[GaryT]

I also don't recall any peat, but that finish . . . holy @#$% that has the longest finish I've ever experienced (although I've not tasted a lot of really old whisky).

[flahute]

Nor I.

I could always check again since I may have acquired a bottle that somebody else changed their mind on...

[BigRich]

Nor I.

I could always check again since I may have acquired a bottle that somebody else changed their mind on...

Matt got ya huh? Greens had mine waiting for me today.

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[ChainWhip]

I'm closing in on trading for a bottle, sounds like it's worth it just to try something different.

I'm very jealous of the time you guys had there, nothing like talking shop with an expert!

It's not the dram you're looking for... Who were you trading with again?

[tanstaafl2]

I would hate to burden you with needing to take another taste........but if you must!

This sounds like a pretty wonderful whiskey. Is it worth the $300 or so it sells for? I ask honestly - I do not know the ways of the Scotch world.

The reality in the scotch world is the age and rarity are increasing expensive at least for now and probably the foreseeable future. QPR is always a pretty relative thing. There is in reality probably very little that is truly worth $300 to me much less the astronomical prices of some of the bottles sought by the flipper scumarrati, both in the secondary market and increasingly in the retail market as well. Not that it has stopped me from buying a few now and again. If I lined up 9 bottles under $100 plus The General and did a blind tasting I am not sure I would pick this bottle as the "best" each time (if at all!). I know I bought some of the hype and rarity/exclusivity as well but I am OK with that. And having met John Glaser and seeing he is a really nice guy who seems open and honest about what he is doing probably didn't hurt.

One thing is for sure, I plan to open it, drink it and share it with like minded friends. That is worth the $300 for me.

Edited March 29, 2014 by tanstaafl2

[Jorgemu1]

I was able to meet John Glaser at ESS this past Wednesday. It was a pleasure to meet him. I liked the fact that it was a casual experience and was surprised when he introduced himself to my friend and I. The fact that I was able to try The General made the night even better. Not sure if mentioning I had bought a bottle helped or not but I was glad that I had a chance to try it.

I have not opened my bottle yet but when I do I know I will definitely enjoy it. I have a couple of high end bottles that I have yet to open but I do plan on opening them at some point in time. Why else buy them then? When I do open them I plan on sharing them with family and friends. I'm all about introducing the "brown juice" as my friend would say to as many people as I can!