Drink Doctrine

Meandering around Sydney Barshow, Day 1 yesterday I happened across the great range of Compass Box whiskies on show. Ohhh it had been a while since this sweet nectar of the gods had passed my lips, but we duly got reacquainted… Having been introduced to this range of whiskies many years ago I have since always held them in very high regard. Whiskymaker John Glaser, a man who served his dues for Johnnie Walker in marketing for many years before going out on his own, has become reknowned for his exciting innovations and one should only shed a glance at their ‘retired’ whiskies archives to learn of their pedigree in introducing to market some great drams over the years. Of particular note I recall the extraordinary Spice Tree, a vatted malt bottling that unfortunately has been retired for the moment due to production disagreements with the SWA, hopefully like Michael Jordan it can be coaxed out of retirement very soon, it was a fantastic whisky and a great addition to their range.

Getting reacquainted with the re-released Orangerie, a limited release whisky-orange infusion that used to be made only for the holiday season, and after a short hiatus of a few years has been released once more. Also the superb Hedonism, a 100% grain whisky with an average age statement of 20yrs, much of the blend supported by whiskies from Cameronbridge, Diageo’s behemoth of a plant that I had the pleasure of visiting on my recent travels. This all got my thinking, and I recalled a twist on a Rob Roy that I had first concocted a few years back at another venue, where we were fortunate enough to range four in the then Compass Box series. Then I used the Asyla, a Compass Box blend of grain and malt whiskies, a lighter style of whisky but well suited to the combination of included flavours. Recipe for the Zealot below..

Zealot
40ml Compass Box Asyla
20ml Martini rosso
10ml Fernet Branca
10ml maple syrup
dash of Angostura bitters
stir all with rock ice & strain to chilled cocktail glass
garnish with orange twist and cherry

A Zealot is a fanatic, an obsessive about something, and my then enthusiasm for whisky and whisky cocktails was and is to this day unrelenting. A very light touch of the dominant flavours of Fernet Branca add some worthy depth to this drink, remembering the whisky I am using is relatively light and not wanting it to be overpowered by the Fernet I add a dab of maple syrup to quell the bitterness a little but not distract from the complexity it offers to the drink. I’ve always found Fernet pairs well with whiskies, particularly American whiskies as they display a sweeter palate than most scotches.

Never will I be lost again now that I’ve found my Compass Box, like rediscovering something you thought you’d lost, priceless…