Latest news with #CompassBox
Rakyat Post
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Rakyat Post
A New Chapter In Malaysian Whisky Culture: Compass Box's Core Collection Makes Its Mark
Subscribe to our FREE In a welcome twist to Malaysia's evolving spirits scene, Compass Box Whisky has officially planted its flag on local soil, bringing its reimagined core collection to discerning drinkers who appreciate both craft and creativity. The launch, hosted at the industrial-chic Kedai Minuman Keras Orang Baik in The Gasket Alley, perfectly embodied the brand's ethos – classic yet unconventional, sophisticated yet approachable. The star attractions? Two new expressions that had whisky enthusiasts reaching for their tasting glasses: Nectarosity and Crimson Casks. This whisky is crafted from malts sourced from respected distilleries such as Linkwood, Clynelish, and Girvan, showcasing a harmonious blend. (Pix: Compass Box) Think of Nectarosity as that perfectly executed French pastry in liquid form – all vanilla, honey, and caramel notes that make you wonder if you're in a high-end patisserie rather than a whisky tasting. Meanwhile, Crimson Casks brings the kind of rich, sherry-influenced complexity that makes you want to sink into your favourite leather armchair and contemplate life's finer things. Beyond the Bottle: Compass Box's Malaysian Debut Stirs Up the Local Whisky Scene These newcomers join the already beloved Orchard House (imagine biting into the crispest apple while walking through a Scottish orchard) and The Peat Monster (which, despite its intimidating name, offers the kind of balanced smokiness that could convert even peat sceptics). 'For 25 years, we've been the ones asking 'why not?' in an industry often stuck on 'because that's how it's always been done,'' shared Léo Korenbaum, Compass Box's Asia-Pacific Manager, capturing the brand's rebellious spirit in a nutshell. Orchard House offers a flavour profile reminiscent of rolling tobacco, with an uplift that appeals to those who prefer non-peaty options. (Pix: Compass Box) The Good Stuff, Compass Box's chosen partner in this Malaysian venture, seems cut from the same innovative cloth. 'We're not just moving bottles; we're sharing stories,' explained Elwin Chin, whose title as 'Spiritual Advisor' at The Good Stuff perfectly encapsulates the company's approach to premium spirits distribution. For those eager to explore these new expressions, they're now available through The launch marks more than just new bottles hitting the shelves – it's another milestone in Malaysia's maturing whisky culture, where appreciation for craft and complexity continues to grow. And if the enthusiastic response at the launch is anything to go by, Compass Box's transparent approach to whiskymaking has found its audience in Malaysia's increasingly sophisticated spirits scene. READ MORE : READ MORE : READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
Rakyat Post
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Rakyat Post
Take Your Pick: April Weekend Hangout Spots Here
Subscribe to our FREE It's nearly the end of April but there are still so much to see and do! The weekend is packed with exciting activities ranging from watching live performances to skating for the first time at a free skate session. Take your pick of weekend shenanigans below! Compass Box Whisky Tasting | 25 April | Kedai Minuman Keras Orang Baik | 8pm-10pm | RM128/pax Whisky fans, this is your time to shine! Compass Box is holding a tasting session featuring easy-sipping blends to whisky that packs a punch at Russell Curtis City Lights Tour | 25 April | SOL @ Level 40 | 8.30pm onwards | Ticketed event Russell Curtis aka the Singing Comedian is back in KL and brings his unmistakable charm and magnetic energy to the stage at SOL. With his signature blend of soul, funk, and country, blues, and pop, the night is set to be a memorable one. Remember to book your table by contacting +6019308 5211. Lepak Santai | 25-27 April | Central Market | 10am-10pm | Free public event Lepak Santai invites guests to chill, wind down, and escape the hustle bustle of the city at their laidback market. Aside from booths to check out, there'll be games such as Giant Snake Game and board games to play, live performances to watch, and more. Single & Scooping | 26 April | Sugar by Frozen, Bangsar | 4.30pm-6.30pm Muse & Mingle is organising Frozen in Time, a speed dating event at an ice-cream shop in Bangsar. To keep things interesting, the event is combined with an ice-cream tasting session and rapid-fire conversations. The event is open to curious hearts aged 25 to 35. If it piques your interest, remember to sign up by filling the Google form Barbie Party | 26 April | 404ClubNotFound | 9.30pm onwards Craft & Bloom Artisan Market | 26-27 April | The School, Jaya One | 10am-6pm | Free public event Check out the tasty offerings, cute handmade items, and sign up for fun workshops at Craft & Bloom Artisan Market happening this weekend in Jaya One. There's also a lucky draw game where you stand to win prizes. Free Skate Session | 27 April | Semua House | 10am-2pm | Free public event Union Skate Club is hosting a free skate session at Semua House this Sunday to promote an active morning lifestyle. Spaces are limited to 20 pax so remember to book your spot with the coupon code 'ahaddisemua' at checkout at the club's official website M2M: The Better Endings Tour | 27 April | Arena of Stars | 6pm | Ticketed event M2M is holding a sort of a reunion concert to give their fans closure. The Better Endings tour features their known hits in the late 1990s and early 2000s such as The Day You Went Away and Don't Say You Love Me. Tickets are available for purchase from RW Genting's official website READ MORE: KL Illustration Fair 2025 | 1-4 May | GMBB | 11am-8pm | Ticketed event The Kuala Lumpur Illustration Fair 2025 (KLIF2025) features the works of 160 talented artists across 3 floors at GMBB. Guests get to mingle with the artists in person, spark artistic collaborations across brands, and discover new works for over four days. Hurry and get your tickets from CloudJoi Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
These Whiskeys Honor Spirited Women's History
The Compass Box Hedonism label with artwork from Sofia Bonati. I've been writing about whiskey for well over a decade, and every year the field grows more diverse with women owning brands and working throughout distilleries including in leadership positions like master blender and master distiller. But it surprised me at a Compass Box tasting last month that while women have taken a part in distilling, since, well, distilling existed, the first time a female form was on a Scotch bottle was for Hedonism, the first blended grain Scotch to ever be released on the market in 2000. It got me thinking — what other whiskeys could I think of that put women front and center on the packaging? Here are a few I thought of that had interesting backstories — and great liquid inside. Jefferson's Marian McLain Bourbon Marian McClain from Jefferson's Jefferson's, known for its bourbon aged at sea, put out this limited release in 2023, and it's one of founder Trey Zoeller's favorites. It honors Zoeller's eighth generation grandmother, one of the earliest documented female bootleggers and whiskey runners in history, Marian McClain. Whiskey expert Fred Minnick gives her a shoutout in his 2013 book 'Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey.' Minnick wrote she was arrested in 1799 in Georgia for illicit distillation. Zoeller said making whiskey — and not paying taxes — was a necessity born out of needing to support her five children after her husband Angus died during the Revolutionary War. The bourbon is a blend of five different components, each honoring one of McClain's children. The brand is set to release the second edition in June of this year, with five different component whiskeys. Zoeller told me it was important for him to honor the 'badass women' in his life and his lineage. One of those women was his grandmother. 'When you went to her house, she didn't ask you what you wanted to drink, she asked you how you take your bourbon,' Zoeller said, adding that his grandfather died when he was two months old, and his grandmother took over running the bowling alleys they owned, becoming the first female president of the Kentucky Bowling Association. And while brands can sometimes target lighter blends for women, Zoeller said once women enter the category, they gravitate towards the stronger stuff. 'Women typically prefer higher proof bourbon and more flavorful bourbon,' he said. 'They've got a better palate. They are able to taste more flavors and articulate it. Mary Dowling Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Tequila Barrels Mary Dowling Kaveh Zamanian, started deep diving into Kentucky bourbon history when he founded Rabbit Hole in Louisville in 2012. He came across a brief mention of Mary Dowling and a distillery in Juarez in an article and found her really intriguing. Mary and her husband John Dowling owned three distilleries, including Waterfill & Frazier. After her husband died in 1903, she took over running the distillery, and when she was deemed a credit risk she helped recharter a bank. Things get even more complicated during prohibition — dramatic enough that Zamaian patterned to write a book about her life with historian Eric Goodman, coming out in April. Eventually Dowling and her sons relocated the Waterfill & Frazier distillery to Mexico. After Zamanian launched Rabbit Hole, a relative of Dowling purchased the Waterfill & Frazer mark, and reached out to Zamanain to find out what he knew about the brand. Zamanian doubled down on his research, hitting libraries and talking to local Kentucky families, and ended up purchasing the marks for Waterfill & Frazier and Dowling Brothers himself. 'When I started thinking about recreating or resurrecting the brands, I ultimately decided that it probably would be more appropriate to put her name on the bottle,' Zamanian said. 'The brand came to be as a way of trying to celebrate the person behind the brands that was never on the bottle as the marquee name because of the times.' Zamanian said it took him a while to figure out what sort of whiskey they were producing at Waterfill & Frazier, but eventually learned that Robert Gould owned the distillery a bit, and that the recipe there eventually became Wild Turkey. He had already started planning the whiskeys for the Dowling brand, and the high rye bourbon that he ended up finishing in tequila casks as a nod to Dowling's ties to Juarez is only very similar to the mash bill at Wild Turkey. Two other expressions are wheated bourbons, one finished in toasted barrels and the other finished in two different oak barrels at cask strength. While Zamanian doesn't have evidence she produced wheated expressions, he thinks they are fitting. 'I felt she was not only such a strong and formidable person, but had such grace and character, and II wanted to bring a whiskey to the fold that was a little bit more sweet and softer in some ways to represent a feminine presence.' Maker's Mark Spirited Women Initiative Maker's Mark, Spirited Women's Initiative When Maker's Mark was founded in 1953, 'Bill Samuels Sr. focused on crafting his premium bourbon, our co-founder Margie Samuels did just about everything else,' said Valerie Netherton, the Director of Higher Purpose at Maker's Mark. 'She wasn't just a visionary, she had the credentials to back it up, graduating top of her class from the University of Louisville with a degree in chemistry. But beyond science, she had an incredible eye for design and a deep appreciation for the arts,' Netherton said. Margie is the one that came up with a lot of what Maker's Mark, well, Maker's Mark. She came up with the name, inspired by English pewter where artisans would stamp their 'mark' as an indicator of quality. She came up with the font, the hand torn label, and rather than a rectangular shaped bottle, she liked one that had a rounded shoulders and long neck to make the 'glug glug glug' sound when poured, Netherton said. To top it off, it was her idea to hand dip every bottle in red wax. While Margie's face has appeared on some editions sold exclusively at the distillery, the largest large scale release the brand has done with a female form is a collaboration with Gayle Kabaker which buyers can personalize with the names of women in their lives who have inspired them. It debuted last year during Women's History Month and was popular enough to bring back for a second time. 'For every personalized label ordered through we're donating $1 to Vital Voices, something we know Margie would have been incredibly proud of,' said Netherton. Vital Voices is a nonprofit that helps foster women in leadership positions. Hedonism from Compass Box In 2023, Compass Box, an independent bottler that blends existing whisky rather than distilling any of its own single malts, discontinued the ongoing release of Hedonism and now releases it once a year as a limited edition, along with a new twist on the blend and a new label from female artists. For the 2025 edition, the bottle features artwork from Argentina Sofia Bonati, who drew inspiration from the magnetic fields that are integral to how a compass works. She layered pencils, watercolor and acrylic gouache to create a woman that's boldly staring out from the bottle. The blend features single grain from Cameronbridge distillery that was aged an additional two years in a first-fill Marsala barrique and blended with two single grain whiskies from Girvan Distillery, that were from past vatted iterations of Hedonism (a 16 year old and 19 year old). The result is a caramel whisky with notes of peach and pear, with more cocoa and vanilla on the nose. "The way that Sofia has captured the essence of the original Hedonism woman in her own style is incredible,' said Assistant Whiskymaker, Michael Stephenson. 'She represented the unique elements of this edition's recipe and taste profile through color that really draws the eye.' This is not an exhaustive list — and hopefully more will be added to it. It's also worth checking out Milam & Greene, named for it's female founders and Grace O'Malley, named for an Irish pirate queen.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Compass Box names Nishat Gupte as CEO successor to Maurice Doyle
Compass Box has named Nishat Gupte as CEO of the Scotch whisky producer following the departure of Maurice Doyle from the UK-based business. Gupte steps into the CEO role from today (3 March) and will be joined in April by Neil Everitt as chairman. The appointment of Everitt, the founder of UK gin group Brockmans, was announced in January before Doyle said last week he would step down at the end of February after almost three years as CEO. Gupte joins Compass Box, which is based in Richmond, London, from Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, the New York sparkling soda and cocktail businesses, respectively, founded by actress Blake Lively. There he served as 'founding' CEO for almost five years, according to a statement from Compass Box. Prior to that, Gupte was head of European luxury and alcoholic beverage investment at Credit Suisse, while he previously served in finance roles at Diageo, Citi Group and Ernst & Young. 'Partnering with Neil, whose track record in the industry has been extraordinary, gives us a remarkable platform to unleash the full potential of Compass Box's signature quality and creativity,' Gupte said. 'I look forward to further building on our commercial strategy, while safeguarding the pioneering spirit that's made Compass Box the favourite among Scotch tastemakers worldwide.' Set up in 2000, Compass Box supplies markets in the UK, the US, China, Japan, France and Germany. It has stocks of whisky maturing in Scotland, according to the company's website. The business is backed by Caelum Capital, which acquired a 'significant majority shareholding' in the Scotch whisky brand in May 2022. Meanwhile, incoming chair Everitt will succeed Dr Alan Rutherford, who has been Compass Box's chair for 18 years. Commenting on Gupte's appointment, Everitt said: 'Nishat's blend of financial and commercial acumen, as well as beverage industry experience, complements Compass Box's innovative DNA perfectly. 'Together with the team, we aim to expand the brands market presence, refine its commercial execution, and keep delivering top-tier whiskies that exceed expectations.' As well as the founder and executive director of Brockmans Gin, Everitt was chairman of Ireland-based craft brewer Rye River Brewing. He is also an investor in Jubel Beer in the UK. Prior to Brockmans, Everitt held executive positions with Stock Spirits Group, Allied Domecq, and British American Tobacco. "Compass Box names Nishat Gupte as CEO successor to Maurice Doyle" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Compass Box CEO Maurice Doyle to step down
UK-based Scotch whisky blender and bottler Compass Box has announced that CEO Maurice Doyle will step down from his role at the end of February. Doyle is exiting Compass Box after nearly three years in the role, with his successor set to be announced on 3 March. He took on the CEO role following Compass Box founder John Glaser and has overseen the company's operations during an 'evolving market landscape'. Doyle, who was then a Bacardi executive, was brought in as CEO when drinks-focused investor Caelum Capital acquired a 'significant majority shareholding' in the Scotch whisky brand in May 2022. In a statement, Compass Box said under Doyle's leadership it had expanded its global presence, strengthened its leadership team, and introduced initiatives such as a new core collection and its entry into global travel retail. Reflecting on his departure in a LinkedIn post yesterday (24 February), Doyle said: 'Recent years have been very challenging for the spirits industry. However whilst there is always more to deliver, I am beyond proud of what we have achieved together on Compass Box over the past three years.' Doyle's exit comes as Compass Box undergoes leadership changes with the company appointing Neil Everitt as its new chair in January. The founder of the UK gin distiller Brockmans will assume the role in April, succeeding Dr Alan Rutherford, who served as chair for 18 years. Commenting on Doyle's departure, Everitt said: "He has played a key role in positioning the company for the future, and we are grateful for his contributions. "We remain committed to driving our strategy forward and ensuring a smooth leadership transition". In October, Compass Box announced plans to explore expansion in Europe and Asia after securing a £35m ($45.4m) asset-backed lending package from UK bank Santander. The business sells in the UK, the US, China, Japan, France and Germany. In a joint statement, Compass Box and Santander said the funding would help the whisky supplier 'continue its upward growth trajectory'. "Compass Box CEO Maurice Doyle to step down" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
