Listening back to the interview I am reminded of the humility of this pioneer in the whisky industry. Unpretentious and simple, the passion he exudes not only for his brands but for the industry in general is contagious and even though I am not a whisky drinker, I could certainly be persuaded.

​

It is early evening at Havana Grill, an hour or so before a Whisky Tasting which will be conducted by John Glaser himself and we have the opportunity to sit down with him and find out more about the man and his brand.

 

After graduating from university where he’d studied Literature, John decided on a career in the wine industry. He wanted to become a winemaker but decided to concentrate on the business aspect of the industry. He was offered a marketting position at Johnny Walker who at that time also had wines in their catalogue and he thought he would use this as an entree into the world of wine. However, he was immediately sent to Scotland for two weeks, where he fell in love not only with the place but also with Scotch Whisky.

 

He was moved to London in 1998 where part of his role was Product Development. Having to visit Scotland often, his love for whisky grew and he began blending in his kitchen for friends and relatives as gifts. As an avid whisky collector and as a result from all the Scotland trips, he began thinking ‘what if different barrels were used” or ‘what if different size barrels were used?’
It was at this point that he decided that whisky making needed a different approach.

 

Very much inspired by the world of wine where small wine makers were producing quality product, he decided to create a small whisky label. The idea was to introduce a new style of whisky to a new generation without the association of ‘dad’s brands’, being the older, well recognized brands in the market at the time.

 

The name was inspired by Pyxis, a small constellation in the Southern sky, which when translated from its Latin, means Mariners Compass. The imagery of the ancient box compass struck a chord with John and in the year 2000, Compass Box was born.

​

In 1998 when John first moved to London, he had been married only 6mths and two years later he and his wife were raising their two sons while juggling a new business. But, the adventure continued, with John based in London and the blending and bottling being done in Scotland, under the strict rules of the Scotch Whisky Association.

​

Now the role of the Scotch Whisky Association is to protect the interest of Scotch Whisky around the world and needless to say it was only a matter of time until this maverick of whisky blending would have a run in with them. Though the laws are broad enough to allow for creativity, their interpretation can be limiting. And so began the story of Spice Tree.

​

Ever the innovator, John once again, borrowed from the world of wine. Aged in bourbon casks fitted with inner staves of new, toasted  French oak which gave the whisky a unique richness and spice, Spice Tree was introduced to the world. However, as it broke with the tradition of the scotch making process, where inner staves were never before used, The Scotch whisky Association asked John to stop selling Spice Tree. After unsuccessful negotiations with them, he discontinued the whisky.

​

He subsequently developed a hybrid cask which used the same quality of oak as the inner staves on the heads of the cask. So what used to take 6 to 9 months to produce now takes about 3 years to get the same character, but allowed them to bring Spice Tree back to the market. Spice Tree had been in South Africa since the beginning and some South Africans were afforded the opportunity of enjoying the ‘illegal’ Spice Tree before it was discontinued. The quality of the oak gives Spice Tree its deep colour.

​

Johns vision is that his boutique brands like Great King Street, grace the bars of high end bar and restaurant in SA as more and more people are becoming aware of the choices available to them and are open to trying them. John Glaser remains on good terms with his former employer and though he may be seen by some as a maverick he has huge respect for the industry, where he sees his role in it as a benefiting whisky as a whole. This relationship also allows him unusual access to buy the  best quality whiskys that he uses to create his master blends. by this description John Glaser is a Blender not a Distiller, which means that all the whiskies under the Compass Box label are blended and not single malt. These would appeal to drinkers of Johnny Walker, Chivas Regal, Glenfiddich to name but a few.

 

John Glaser is certainly an inspiration and after spending an evening with this infectious personality it is not surprising that our team constantly is on the lookout at any venue we attend for his beautifully crafted products, and we are finding them more and more easily available.

​

​

​

​