Compass Box Transatlanticism Review + Woodford’s First American Single Malt & Michter’s Big Win!

This week on Bourbon Bytes, I dive into the world of Scotch with a review of Compass Box’s Transatlanticism (2024 release) — a limited-edition blend crafted with help from whiskey reviewer T8ke and industry veteran Will Schragis. How does this $199 bottle stack up against Compass Box favorites like Orchard House and Glasgow Blend?

Plus: 🥃 Woodford Reserve surprises with its first-ever 12-Year American Single Malt 🏆 Michter’s named “Most Admired Whiskey in the World” (again) 🐉 Catoctin Creek goes full fantasy with DracoMalt, a dragon-inspired American single malt collab 🎮 And in gaming: Hollow Knight: Silksong finally launches + a stacked September of new releases!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Today on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, Woodford Reserve announces their very first American
single malt. Michter's is named the most admired whiskey in the world. Plus we'll highlight some
whiskeys and video games coming out this month. And stick around because I'm reviewing the
Compass Box Transatlanticism release from 2024. Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bytes

(00:33):
podcast. I'm your host, Clifton, and this is the week of Thursday, September 4th, 2025. I hope you
all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I know I did. I did a bit of a staycation here in Los Angeles,
you know, visited some neighborhoods that I've never really been to before or explored before.
We were up in Highland Park on Saturday and then on Monday we went to Lakewood and had some amazing

(00:57):
fish tacos from Tacos Nazo. And then made our way down to Bellflower to go to Round One,
which is, I don't know if it's local, I don't know if they have them other places, but it's basically
like an arcade slash bowling alley slash claw machine kind of place. Really, really cool. A lot
of cute little collectible keychains and stuff that you can try to get the claw machines. It's

(01:18):
always nice to kind of be a tourist in your neighborhood, especially when you live in Los
Angeles because like there's so much to see. There's so many different suburbs. There's,
you know, always a new adventure to find. And I recommend you guys do that too in your area,
whether, you know, you live in a big city or a small city, maybe just, you know,
take the road less traveled. But thank you for tuning in today. This week we have a little bit

(01:38):
of news and then a review of a sample that a listener sent in. So I'm very, very excited
to get into both of those things. Let's get into our first piece of whiskey news to start out with.
Woodford Reserve is releasing its first American single malt. Yes, you heard that right. Woodford
Reserve is releasing a single malt. Now, this isn't to be confused with those special releases
they had a couple of years back where they had like the rye whiskey, the wheat whiskey, the malt

(02:00):
whiskey. This is a whole different product and it's even older than you think. So this one is
actually coming out at 12 years old. That's one of the oldest American single malts I've ever seen.
So they've been sitting on this stuff for a while, which is really, really exciting because
I see a lot of brands try to get into the American single malt game, but they release it really
young and it just really isn't shining like it should and expressing itself. Of course, there are

(02:24):
some exceptions that are, you know, very well aged. I mean, I just recently did some TINCUP
six-year American whiskey that had some American single malt blended in. Of course, the Stranahan's
that I reviewed over on YouTube. So there are some older ones, of course, Westland out in
Washington, but it's interesting to see that Woodford Reserve has been sitting on an American
single malt for 12 years and they thought now is the time to release it. So this one's going to be

(02:47):
a mash made of 100% malted barley, triple distilled on a copper pot still, and then aged for 12 years
in bourbon barrels. So they're not using new American oak. I know a lot of people that do
American single malt do the same method they do with the bourbon. They put it in a new charred
American oak, but it sounds like they are using used bourbon barrels for this release. It's going
to come out at 45.2% ABV, which is the same proof as standard Woodford Reserve, and it's going to

(03:13):
be available exclusively at the Versailles Kentucky Distillery, Kentucky Retailers, and online at
shop.woodfordreserve.com. It's going to be priced at $100 for a 375 milliliter bottle, and since it
is a distillery series release, it's only going to be available for a limited time. I am very
interested in getting my hands on this. I mean, 12 years old American single malt from Woodford

(03:36):
Reserve. I mean, where did this come from? Who's been hiding the secret? I love it. I would love
to try it. You know, a well-aged American single malt, especially when they're using used bourbon
barrels, makes me really curious to see how it would compare to like a 12 year old single malt
scotch. Because like I said, a lot of American single malts we see are in new charred oak barrels,

(03:56):
or they're doing some different things with the finishing. This is being made the same way that
single malts made in Scotland. And not saying that others aren't doing that too, but releasing a 12
year old product is pretty incredible. So if anyone is in the area, let me know how this one is,
because I would be curious to compare it against some other of some of my favorite American single
malts. There have been so many new ones I've tried recently, and I don't think hardly any of them

(04:18):
hit that 12 year age statement. So well done, Woodford Reserve. I'm curious to see how that is.
So if you see it, let me know. All right, moving right along. I am looking at an article from Fred
Minnick. It says Michter's was named "the Most Admired Whiskey" for the third straight year. Now, this is
according to Drinks International. It is a top 50 ranking and is considered by many as the

(04:41):
definitive list for the world's best whiskeys. Now, the rankings are determined by an international
academy consisting of 100 independent global drinks buyers, journalists, bartenders and whiskey
experts. Now, Shea Waterworth, who is a editor at Drinks International, says Michter's ticks all the
boxes when it comes to being an admired whiskey brand. It honors traditional practice while

(05:02):
pushing innovation. It has provenance without being old fashioned, and its whiskey is exclusive
but available in all the right places. And I think that's a huge statement to why everyone gets
excited about Michter's. I mean, I just a couple of weeks ago reviewed the Bomberger's and the
Shenk's releases. But not only that, they're constantly putting out new limited editions. I saw

(05:22):
they just announced their new third batch of the toasted sour mash whiskey, one that I've praised
many times on the channel. I just think it's a fantastic whiskey. So they're always doing the
right thing. So I thought in honor of that, I'm going to pour myself a little bit of this Michter's
limited release barrel strength rye whiskey just to, you know, this isn't the review of the podcast,

(05:43):
but I do want to have a little Michter's in my glass because I think that's a big achievement.
Congratulations to those folks. Now, they go on to say that over the past 30 years, the whole Michter's
family has built a powerful reputation with the global bar trade, while the quality of its whiskey
is revered by the industry's top experts. I definitely encourage you guys to go check out
this article on fredminnick.com. They interview a lot of great names in the industry, including

(06:05):
Michter's Executive Vice President, Matt Maglioccio. They also have a quote from the incredible Andrea
Wilson, who is their Master of Maturation as well as their Master Distiller, Dan McKee. So I'm not
going to go through all the details. Like I said, check it out on fredminnick.com. It was posted on
August 29th, if you're curious. Yeah, cheers to those folks. And I'm going to finish off this

(06:26):
pour while I get into the rest of this news. All right, just one more piece of whiskey news,
because we got some upcoming video game releases to talk about. This one's coming to us from
Catoctin Creek. I've had those folks on the channel a long, long time ago. It's been several years now.
But according to Coming Whiskey on Instagram, which is an amazing account, make sure to go
follow him. They have a new release coming out called DracoMalt. Now, if you look at it, there's

(06:49):
this giant dragon on the front of the bottle. It is an American malt whiskey. It is a collaboration
with Dragon Hops Brewing. Both Catoctin Creek and Dragon Hops Brewing are based in Virginia.
These whiskeys are aged in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And I just think I love seeing this
kind of collaboration between whiskey makers and beer makers. I mean, I just did a stream on YouTube

(07:12):
with Copperworks Distilling out of Seattle. They are brewers at heart. So they're taking some of
the most beloved malts they're used for making beer and turning it into an exceptional American
single malt whiskey. So I love to see more of it. And this one caught my eye just because the
beautiful dragon label. I don't know. It's a little bit appealing to the nerdiness of this

(07:32):
podcast. I just love the label. I love anything with dragons. DracoMalt. I think I'm pronouncing
it right. It could be Draco Malt, like Dracula or Draco. I think more like Draco Malfoy. I don't
know why, but it's it's D-R-A-C-O-M-A-L-T. So keep an eye out for that. I would love to have those
folks on the channel again. So maybe I should reach out to them about this. It seems very,

(07:53):
very exciting. Congrats on this new release. All right. I know we flew through those news stories
because honestly, there really wasn't a lot of big whiskey news this week, at least that I that I
came across. I already talked about all the L.E.s that have been announced so far. Of course, I'm
sure as soon as I say that there's going to be a breaking news article tomorrow and I'm going to
already have recorded the podcast. So you'll have to bear with me, OK? I record these usually on

(08:16):
Monday night. So sometimes if something breaks on Tuesday mornings, I might miss it. If that does
happen, you can always check out the Bourbon Bytes Gaming and Whiskey Lounge Discord server. We have
a whiskey news channel there where people share the latest and breaking whiskey news. If you're
not yet on our Discord, definitely check it out. It's a great community. I always say whiskey loving
friends. It's a relatively small community. People on Patreon and the Byte Club get access to some

(08:39):
exclusive rooms like our after party hangouts that happen every Thursday night after live streams,
our tasting hangouts that happen at the $50 tier where I send you a sample box every month,
and our tipsy gaming hangout where we sometimes just get really drunk and play Peak or we play
Cards Against Humanity, whatever we're feeling. It's just an awesome community of friends.
Check it out, bourbonbytes.com. There's a link to it on the website there. You can also go to the

(09:03):
website to find all the merch for the channel, support the channel for as little as $2 a month,
and keep up with all the latest podcasts and YouTube videos out there. That's kind of my hub
on the internet, so check it out. Make sure to follow it. You can become a free member and get
all the updates. Not every update that I release to my members, but there are some updates that I
release for every free member as well, so check it out, bourbonbytes.com. All right, now that I'm

(09:27):
done with my plug, let's talk about some video games that are coming out this month since we
are in a new month towards the end of the year. This is when a lot of video games are announced,
same with L.E. whiskeys, and we have a lot to talk about. Now, I think the most anticipated

video game release of this month is the recently announced Hollow Knight (09:41):
Silksong. People have
been dying for a sequel to the Hollow Knight game. The original game came out back in 2017 as an indie
game, and people have been begging and anticipating a sequel, so they came out at Gamescom and

announced that the new Hollow Knight (10:00):
Silksong is going to be released on the 4th of September,
yes, today, and I'm very, very excited to see how this game does. Now, I don't think I've played
Hollow Knight since back, probably when it first came out in 2017. I know it is a beloved game,
and I can't wait to replay it. I definitely want to replay it before I start the new one,
but what a surprise announcement. I think everyone was shocked by how quickly this game was announced,

(10:25):
and not only is it coming out this week, it's only going to be $20. They are keeping the original
pricing structure from Hollow Knight. They're not going to build on the hype and they know that
everyone's excited for this game. They're going to release it for $20. That is crazy to me,
in 2025, that a major video game released. Yes, it is an indie game, but it is a much-anticipated

(10:47):
indie game, and it's going to be released at $20 when it comes out this week, so if you've
not yet bought it, check it out. It's absolutely one of my favorite styles of game, a 2D platformer,
definitely just nostalgic about all those games of the past, but it brings some modern features
that I'm very, very excited for, so you can definitely check out all the details on this
new release. I don't want to spoil it if you are trying to stay in the dark about it, because I know

(11:09):
a lot of people are. They want to be surprised by the game, but just know that's coming out this
week. It's going to be available on all the operating systems from Linux to Mac to Nintendo
Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X.
Yeah, I think that covers all of them, but congratulations to that team. I'm so excited
to see a new release. I mean, it's been eight years coming, and I am so excited to see how it

(11:34):
does. I haven't read any reviews or anything yet. I want to experience it first myself, so if you
guys play it, let me know how you feel about it. I'm just so excited. Now, there are quite a few
other games coming out this month, many of which I'm not super familiar with, but I'm going to run
through a list in case any of these catch your eye or ear, I guess, since this is a podcast. Metal

(11:54):
Eden comes out on September 2nd. Demonschool comes out on September 3rd. A new DLC for the
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game is coming out September 4th called Order of the Giants.

Cronos (12:05):
The New Dawn is coming out on September 5th. NBA 2K26 is also coming out on September 5th.

Borderlands 4 is making its debut September 12th. Dying Light (12:11):
The Beast is coming out September
19th. The latest installment in the Silent Hill franchise, Silent Hill F, is coming out September
23rd. And Lego Party, which is meant to be kind of be a competitor for Mario Party, is coming out
on September 30th. That's definitely one that I'm very interested in picking up. The Lego games

(12:33):
surprise me by just being excellent games and it's nice to see kind of a competition for Mario Party
because I like Mario Party, don't get me wrong, but I kind of think it relies a lot on nostalgia,
whereas I think the Lego Party coming in and bringing something new to that type of
gameplay is very, very exciting. So let me know which of those releases you're most excited for.
If I missed one that you're excited for, let me know. I'd love to feature it on a future episode,

(12:55):
dive a little deeper. Like I said, there's so many things coming out. It's hard for me to
keep up with it. These are just some of the highlights I've been seeing across all of the
gaming news websites and message boards. This is what everyone's excited about. So if I missed
your favorite game, I'm sorry. Let me know. I'll love to feature it on a future episode.
But that does it for the news portion of the podcast. Now I am very, very excited to get into

(13:16):
today's Byte-Sized Review. All right. Well, today's review excites me in so many ways. Not only was
it sent to me by amazing patron of the channel and viewer, Michael, but it was a collaboration

(13:37):
between a whiskey reviewer and one of my favorite industry experts in the world of bourbon,
especially bourbon blending. But it's not a bourbon. This is a Scotch whiskey from Compass
Box. So what I'm reviewing today is the Compass Box Transatlanticism blended malt. This is a 2024
release. It is a collaboration between T8ke, who is a Reddit and also blog famous whiskey

(14:04):
reviewer. He's been doing this since 2017. Jay, go check him out. Not just that. He collaborated
with one of my favorite people in the industry, Will Schragis, formerly of Barrell Craft Spirits.
I've had on the channel at least two or three times. He's since moved on to become the founder
of Wellspun Consulting, which is a consulting firm for the beverage and alcohol industry. But I knew

(14:25):
him back when he was at Barrell and he just was the mastermind of some of these crazy blends. I mean,
you know, Barrell Seagrass. He was kind of the guy behind that. So I love to see someone who is coming
from inside the industry, but in a very specifically American whiskey approach and taking someone who
like T8ke, I hope I'm pronouncing this right, it's T-8-K-E. Honestly, I've never said it out loud. So

(14:47):
I've always just said T8ke, but maybe I'm wrong about that. Jay, I'll just call him Jay. Taking
both of their expertise, taking their like palates and their lubs for different whiskeys and going
across the pond over to London and visiting Compass Box and working with their team there to
create a whiskey that satisfies both of their palates. The story behind it is incredible. There's

(15:09):
a whole blog post. If you go to T8KE's website, it's T8KE.com. They have a whole article about
this release and their journey over to London back in 2024 to make this blend. So what they're
starting with in this blend is an extra aged, high proof, 13 year old Spice Tree release. Y'all know
Compass Box Spice Tree. It's been out on the market for a long time, but they apparently were holding

(15:31):
some of it back at a high age and uncut. So they tasted this and fell in love, but that wasn't all.
Of course, Compass Box is known for their blends, right? So they took that high proof 13 year Spice
Tree, mixed it with some Moscatel matured nine year old Linkwood, some First Fill Vin Santo
cask matured nine year Clynelish, some First Fill Ex-Bourbon barrel matured 13 year Clynelish,

(15:56):
but that's not all. So when they were getting close to finishing up their blend, James Saxon,
who has recently taken over from John Glaser at Compass Box, introduced the fact that they had
some 25 year old Miltonduff. And they added a bit of this to the blend, not too much, about 15% of
it. And this completely changed the flavor profile in the best way. These guys were so excited about

(16:17):
the blend. They, you know, took a little bit with them, kind of thought on it while the rest of
their trip went on and then came back and just hands down decided this is what they want this
whiskey to be released as. So it is a 51.1% ABV non-chill filtered blended Scotch whiskey. They
only had 1,032 bottles and only 999 of these ended up in the US. So again, thank you, Michael,

(16:40):
for the sample. I'm so glad and honored to have a chance to try this. Pricing is $199 and the name
Transatlanticism kind of speaks to their journey. One's an influencer and one is a blender coming
together, going across the pond out to our good friends at Compass Box and making what they
believe is an exceptional blend. All right, enough talking about it. Let's go ahead and give this

(17:02):
Compass Box Transatlanticism a nose. Oh, surprisingly bright. I was reading the ingredients and I kind
of thought I was going to go a bit darker on the nose, but this is more lively, a little more
fruity, like almost like a bit of a brighter like a pear or something in that territory. Honestly,
one of my favorite Compass Box releases is Orchard House and it's just like a shelfer. It's one that's

(17:27):
only, you know, like $50, but it's one that I constantly rebuy and rebuy because it has that
note of like pears and, you know, like apples. And this kind of on the nose weirdly reminds me of
that. When I go in a little bit deeper on the nose, I do start to find some of those red fruits
that I would associate with a sherry. Like I said, some of this is matured in muscatel casks as well
as Vin Santo casks. And doing a quick Google search, I see that Vin Santo wines are an Italian

(17:52):
wine. They are full bodied and they are a very sweet dessert wine. So definitely getting some
of those darker notes from that cask. Honestly, I'm getting a little bit of like an amaretto note,
which I think, you know, could be coming from those Vin Santo wines. Of course, amaretto being
an almond liqueur, also Italian, believe it or not. But there's definitely some darker, richer

(18:12):
notes. They're just a little bit buried under that bright pear note that I'm getting on the nose.
It's pretty rare that I find a whiskey that's so layered on the nose. I'm always, you know,
looking for a layered palette, something that kind of evolves and takes you on a journey when you're
drinking it. But nosing it, that rarely happens. But it's definitely happening with this glass.
Really, really great nose. And I would expect nothing less from T8ke and Will Schragis, I guess.

(18:35):
All right, let's go for a taste. Like I said, this is 51.1% ABV. So I don't know if it's
necessarily cask strength, but that's relatively high proof. I'm excited to see it. All right.
Cheers. Hmm. Yum. Wow. There's some really mature whiskey in there. You know, I think
single malt whiskey and even Irish whiskey in a way expresses itself in such a unique way when it

(18:57):
gets, you know, beyond 15 or so years old. To me, it almost gives me a bit of a vegetal note that I
don't get on any other whiskeys except older malt whiskeys. And that's what I noticed first. This is
a very mature, very complex blend of Scotch whiskeys. But with that, there is a lot of
character from those other casks beyond just a bourbon barrel cask. Again, I'm getting a lot of

(19:18):
red fruit on the palate, more so than on the nose. The nose was definitely more in the lighter
orchard fruit kind of category. On the palate, to me, it's richer, got a little bit more mouthfeel.
That proof is absolutely fantastic. I have a couple of single barrels that are higher proof,
but a lot of Compass Box I have is in the, you know, 45% range. So bumming up to 51% is a

(19:39):
welcomed addition here. I think that may have been influenced by our friends,
T8ke and Will Schragis. I know they are both fans of cask strength whiskey. Yeah. The red wine
influence to me is the more dominant palate here. It's got a little bit of the almond note that I
was getting on the nose, but it's definitely more subdued. Same with those orchard notes. To me,
this is like a red fruit. Um, it kind of reminds me of a bit of a Fig Newton, which is a note that

(20:02):
I give to a lot of sherry cask scotches. It's got a, it's like a sweet fig filling. It's not just
necessarily like a fig. It's got like a bit of that, like granulated sugar there as well. A bit
of like a, I guess, marmalade. I don't know what you would call it. What would you call the filling
inside of a Fig Newton? I guess it's kind of like a paste. I don't know. I'm not a food expert. I'm
just giving you what comes to my mind first when I taste this whiskey. It's giving a bready Fig

(20:26):
Newton, definitely a lot of bread notes. A lot of like, um, I guess shortbread, I guess you could
say a little bit like a Twinkie, but if you fill the Twinkie with Fig Newton filling, okay, I'll
stop here. But you know what I'm saying? Like, it's not like that, um, you know, smelling freshly
baked bread, a little bit over toasted bread. I do love that note, but that's not what I'm getting
here. It's definitely more of a, um, sweet, sweet, bready, um, confectionary note. And I'll say finish

(20:50):
is about the same. It's a bit of a medium finish. It's not super crazy, but it does linger with those
fruity notes on the palate. Again, that Fig note is just dominating here and I do like it overall,
a really delicious blend. I love the fact that I had a chance to try it. Um, let's talk a little
bit bang for your buck because that's the category I've been trying to introduce more in my reviews,
especially over on Reddit. Um, at $199, this is a very limited release. Like I said,

(21:15):
less than a thousand bottles were available in the U S it is a fun collaboration between two
masterminds of whiskey. If I were to have bought a bottle at retail for the $199, um, I would have
not been disappointed at all. This doesn't quite necessarily hit my favorite flavor profiles that
I get from a Compass Box. It kind of teases at them. It's funny because it like gives me a lot

(21:36):
of what I love about Orchard House on the nose, but on the palate, it kind of reminds me of some
of those, uh, Glasgow Blend, you know, single barrels that I've seen at other liquor stores.
So it's kind of taking some elements that I love from all across the Compass Box lineup
and mixing them together. I don't think it's bad by any means. I think it's, it's,
it's a great experience. It definitely takes you on a journey. And that's what I love about a good

(21:57):
blended whiskey. Really, really appreciate the work that went into here. It just isn't quite
my favorite flavor profile. If I had to give this a ranking for myself, I would probably give it
about a six and a half out of 10, mainly just to recognize the craft behind this. There's some
really old whiskeys here. This is a great price to get these. I haven't once felt like Compass Box

(22:18):
overcharges. I know they have some more premium releases, but I think they charge a very fair
price for the quality of the whiskey that goes into their products. So I don't think it's overpriced,
but just for me personally, it's not quite my favorite flavor profile, even though I'm finding
this that I love about the nose, the palate, and even the finish. So yeah, 6.5 for me, but I'm
curious to hear what you guys think of this one if you've had a chance to try it. Um, but man,

(22:40):
am I am happy and lucky to try this release. So again, shout out to Michael on Discord,
who is a Byte Club member. You're amazing. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Such a, such an interesting pour with an even better story. So I'm glad to share my review
of it here today with you guys. All right. Well, I think that about does it for this week's podcast.
Thank you all for listening. I know I kind of rushed through the news a little bit, but there

(23:02):
wasn't too much to talk about this week. Hopefully next week we'll have some even better news. Again,
if you guys want to leave me a question or comment for the channel and you want to have it answered
on the stream, you can give me a call at 916-64-BYTES or 916-642-9837. You can also email
me [e-mail]. If you have suggestions or maybe you are a brand rep and

(23:25):
you want to send me samples for review, I'm always happy to do that as well. So, uh, definitely reach
out @bourbonbytes on your favorite social media platform. Otherwise, thank you all so much for
listening. This has been the Bourbon Bytes podcast, a bourbon podcast with a gaming twist. Cheers!
I'll talk to you guys next episode.