We know you’ve been meaning to acquire all sorts of esoteric Scotch knowledge so no one laughs anymore when you try to pronounce “Islay.” There’s a way to look like you know your way around the Inner Hebrides however without losing sleep over it. Compass Box, a no-nonsense artisanal Brit whiskymaker, bypasses the mumbo jumbo in favor of a simple statement expressing the character of the spirit: take our favorite from their core range, the smoked-out Peat Monster.

Now Compass Box is broadening its offerings on our side of the sink…

Would you pay $30,000 for a bottle of Scotch? The folks at Christie’s are hoping somebody will at what is certainly an auspicious occasion: the first auction of rare spirits in New York since Prohibition began in 1920, taking place this Saturday at their Rockefeller Center HQ. Read more »

Compass Box, the no-nonsense artisanal Brit whiskymaker whose ambrosial offerings we first told you about last year, has just come out with a new bottling of its limited release Hedonism Scotch in time for a certain Hallmark holiday.

Hedonism is a blend of rare old Scotch grain whisky — traditionally low grade, unmatured stuff made from wheat or corn added to malt whisky to make the major brands of blended Scotch. However, when properly aged in oak, Scotch grain whisky can achieve its own delectable character, albeit of a much lighter, honeyish, toffee-like variety; a before-dinner Scotch if you will.

Compass Box bottles the stuff when it can find enough mature grain whisky—20 years old on average—in good oak casks. No easy task, but we’re certainly glad they bothered.

Last year we told you about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a world-class collection of rare Scotch whiskies at a landmark Christie’s sale. Now you can get the whole shebang in one bottle. It’s no ordinary fifth of hooch however; called The Last Drop, it carries a $2,000 pricetag and there’s an extremely limited supply.

70 different malt whiskies and 12 different grain whiskies, most from distilleries no longer extant and all at least 48 years old (i.e. pre-1960), go into this uber-blend bottled at cask strength. Of course with something like this you may want to lock it away in the cellar for some extremely important occasion, so the makers have thoughtfully included a miniature bottle gratis so you can sample the goods without breaking into the principal. And if you can stop there you’re a better man than I.