What we’re drinking: Compass Box Brûlée Royale Blended Malt
Where it’s from: This London-based whisky house was created in 2000 to revive and modernize the art of blending. To get a better idea of Compass Box’s philosophy, read our interview with the company’s founder, John Glaser, here (note: Glaser left the company in 2024).
Why we’re drinking this: I was looking for a whisk(e)y that would work well at a Thanksgiving dinner, having long finished my bottle of Hatozaki Small Batch (seriously, it pairs quite well with turkey). So I went the dessert route. And forget pumpkin — the whiskymakers at Compass Box decided to evoke classic crème brûlée with its latest blend, utilizing single malts from Clynelish, Benrinnes, Speyburn and Ardbeg, all aged in American oak barrels (recharred, refill, first-fill bourbon and second-fill).
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Hatozaki will perfectly enhance your Turkey Day spread“The story of Brûlée Royale sort of starts with a different expression of ours called Nectarosity, which is all about pastry,” says Samuel Travers, lead Compass Box whiskymaker. “With pastry, it’s all about the precision involved. Cooking, you kind of cook with the heart, but with pastry, it’s so precise. We’re all about adding color to imagination, and the precision that goes into blending whiskey and the storytelling involved in whisky is quite analogous to the precision in pastry.”
As a nod to the dessert’s origins, the Brûlée Royale packaging features a “surreal scene of alchemy and mastery” within the Versailles Palace kitchens where Chef François Massialot created his crème brûlée.
If you read the above list of single malts and wondered how a smoky Islay whisky like Ardbeg plays into the mix, it’s just a hint (0.5% of the final blend) but an important ingredient. “The original recipe of crème brûlée claims that the dessert is seared with a red-hot shovel to toast the top of the dessert,” Travers says. “We found that by adding Ardbeg to this, that whisky is sort of a kiss of the royal shovel, if you will.”
How it tastes: Compass Box Brûlée Royale Blended Malt comes in at 49% ABV and is non-chill-filtered. There’s a lot of grilled peach on the nose, though hints of candied caramel apple come through. On the palate, it’s a juicy, oily blend of toasted sugar, green apple, vanilla custard and a touch of smoke. It’ll coat your mouth but also serve as a nice, fruity respite from the turkey and carbs you just inhaled. And while it’s a bit decadent for the price, it would also work in a pre-dinner highball.
Fun fact: If you want famed baker Dominique Ansel’s crème brûlée fondue recipe — which evokes the flavor of this Compass Box whisky and uses a bit as well— you can find it here.
Where to buy: Compass Box Brûlée Royale Blended Malt is available in a 700mL bottle for $160.
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