Compass Box Vellichor.

‘Vellichor’ is a new word and refers to the aromatic atmosphere within second-hand bookshops. For this project, we have combined complex and impressively mature whiskies from renowned distilleries, as well as parcels of blends that have been aged for many years in ex-Sherry butts, to encapsulate this unique fragrance.

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Hints of leather, polished furniture and the crackling dustiness of decades-old pages on the nose. The palate is stacked with sumptuous malty notes, tropical fruit and Sherry character, with a delicate but persistent peatiness.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS: The late whisky writer Michael Jackson recommended some whiskies be enjoyed "with a book at bedtime". This is one ofthose whiskies.

RECIPE BIBLIOGRAPHY

HIGHLAND PARK DISTILLERY: Eight recharred hogsheads. Aromas of musky dry leather immediately marked this parcel out as fundamental to the Vellichor project. On the palate this is ridiculously fruity and puts us in mind of lighthearted Victorian poetry read aloud while wassailing. Around 50% ABV.

BLENDED SCOTCH PARCEL: One refill Sherry butt of whisky dubbed ‘Old Orkney’. No connection to the closed Stromness Distillery, this nevertheless made us think of an anthology of Norse mythology, in the kind of chunky hardbacks produced in the early 1990s. Close to 42% ABV.

BLENDED MALT PARCEL: Two refill Sherry butts. Heavy cooked fruit and spice notes suggest an inherited, well-thumbed cookbook for desserts and puddings. Around 41% ABV.

CAOL ILA DISTILLERY: One refill hogshead. Beautifully old smoke but still with surprising juiciness – like an eighteenth-century
almanac for orchard pruners, kept in the potting shed. Around 46% ABV.

MACALLAN DISTILLERY: Two first fill ex-Bourbon barrels. With its heavyweight texture and glossy aromatics, this is like that coffee table book on stately home garden design you could imagine seeing on the polished oak desk of your piano teacher. An ABV of around 56%.