Delilah’s Scotch Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B-

Compass Box is fond of its thematic limited releases, often putting the spotlight on some obscure bit of whiskey history. Delilah’s follows that rule, named for the punk rock bar in Chicago that carries 600 whiskeys from 15 different countries. Compass Box’s Delilah’s celebrates the Chicago bar’s 20th anniversary, and was developed by not just John Glaser, but also Delilah’s owner Mike Miller.

Glaser and Miller blended Delilah’s with an eye on creating the perfect scotch for a beer and a shot (although in my mind, that combination depends as much on the beer as the whiskey). This scotch is basically a half-and-half blend of malt and grain whiskey, with the malt side coming from Alness and Longmorn, while the grain comes predominately from Fife. As usual for Compass Box, the scotch was not chill filtered, but unusually it was bottled at 40% abv (Compass Box usually goes a little higher). The release dates to July 2013, and consisted of 6,324 bottles.

The Scotch
In keeping with who the scotch was made for, Delilah’s comes in a bottle labeled in a way that wouldn’t look remiss on a Siouxsie and the Banshees album. The scotch has a straw coloring in the glass, and comes with a nose that is crisp and oaky, with a current of cinnamon toast running through it.

The flavor is predominately oaky, but in a mild and mellow way, one that compliments its creamy sugar and spice notes. The finish is lightly warm, with a cinnamon and ginger aftertaste.

The Price
Compass Box’s Delilah’s is available beyond the shelves of Delilah’s in Chicago, so you might very well see it on the shelves of an upper-end liquor store. Compass Box lists it for £52.00 ($85) in it’s webstore.