Up next in 10
Compass Box Transatlanticism Review + Woodford’s First American Single Malt & Michter’s Big Win!
May 3, 2026
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! 0:00 Intro & Labor Day Staycation Vibes 1:45 Whiskey News: Woodford Reserve’s 12-Year American Single Malt 4:27 Whiskey News: Michter’s Crowned “Most Admired Whiskey” 6:33 Whiskey News: Catoctin Creek’s DracoMalt Release 9:27 Gaming News: Hollow Knight: Silksong Surprise Launch 11:42 September Game Releases Rundown (Borderlands 4, Silent Hill F, Lego Party + more) 13:12 Byte-Sized Review: Compass Box Transatlanticism 2024 22:56 Closing Cheers + Byte Club Shoutouts
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, Woodford Reserve announces their very first American single malt
0:06
Michter's is named the most admired whiskey in the world. Plus, we'll highlight some whiskeys and video games coming out this month
0:13
And stick around because I'm reviewing the Compass Box Transatlanticism release from 2024
0:30
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Bourbon Bites Podcast. I'm your host, Clifton, and this is the week of Thursday, September 4th, 2025
0:39
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
0:49
we were up in Highland Park on Saturday and then on Monday we went to Lakewood and had some amazing
0:57
fish tacos from Tacos Natsos and then made our way down to Bellflower to go to round one
1:03
which is I don't know if it's local I don't know if they have them other places but it's basically
1:07
like an arcade slash bowling alley slash claw machine kind of place really really cool a lot of
1:13
cute little collectible keychains and stuff that you can try to get the claw machines it's always
1:18
nice to kind of be a tourist in your neighborhood especially when you live in Los Angeles because
1:22
like there's so much to see there's so many different suburbs there's you know always new
1:26
adventure to find and I recommend you guys do that too in your area whether you know you live in a
1:31
big city or a small city maybe just you know take the road less traveled but thank you for tuning
1:36
in today uh this week we have a little bit of news um and then a review of a sample that a listener
1:41
sent in so I'm very very excited to get into both of those things let's get into our first piece of
1:45
whiskey news to start out with Woodford Reserve is releasing its first American single malt yes
1:52
you heard that right Woodford Reserve is releasing a single malt now this isn't to be confused with
1:56
those special releases they had a couple years back where they had like the rye whiskey the wheat whiskey the malt whiskey this is a whole different product and it's even older than you
2:05
think so this one is actually coming out at 12 years old that's one of the oldest American single
2:10
malts I've ever seen so they've been sitting on this stuff for a while which is really really
2:14
exciting because I see a lot of brands try to get into the American single malt game, but they
2:19
really sit really young and it just really isn't shining like it should and expressing itself
2:23
Of course, there are some exceptions that are, you know, very well aged. I mean, I just recently did
2:28
some 10 cup six year American whiskey that had some American single malt blended in. Of course
2:32
the Stranahan's that I reviewed over on YouTube. So there are some older ones, of course, Westland
2:36
out in Washington. But it's interesting to see that Woodford Reserve has been sitting on an
2:42
American single malt for 12 years and they thought now is the time to release it. So this
2:46
was going to be a mash made of 100% malted barley, triple distilled on a copper pot still, and then
2:52
aged for 12 years in bourbon barrels. So they're not using new American oak. I know a lot of people
2:57
that do American single malt do the same method they do with the bourbon. They put it in new
3:02
charred American oak, but it says like they are using used bourbon barrels for this release
3:06
It's going to come out at 45.2% ABV, which is the same proof as standard Woodford Reserve
3:12
and it's going to be available exclusively at the Versailles Kentucky Distillery
3:16
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
3:28
be available for a limited time. I am very interested in getting my hands on this. I mean
3:33
12 years old American single malt from Woodford Reserve. I mean where should this come from? Who's
3:38
been hiding the secret. I love it. I would love to try it. You know, a well-aged American single
3:44
malt, especially when they're using used bourbon barrels, makes me really curious to see how it
3:48
would compare to like a 12-year-old single malt scotch. Because like I said, a lot of American
3:53
single malts we see are in new charred oak barrels or they're doing some different things with the
3:57
finishing. This is being made the same way that single malts made in Scotland. And not saying
4:02
that others aren't doing that too, but releasing a 12-year-old product is pretty incredible. So
4:06
if anyone is in the area, let me know how this one is because I would be curious to compare it
4:12
against some other of some of my favorite American single malts. There have been so many new ones I've
4:16
tried recently and I don't think hardly any of them hit that 12-year age statement. So well done
4:21
Woodford Reserve. I'm curious to see how that is. So if you see it, let me know. All right, moving
4:27
right along, I am looking at an article from Fred Minnick. It says Michter's was named the most
4:33
admired whiskey for the third straight year. Now, this is according to Drinks International
4:38
It is a top 50 ranking and is considered by many as the definitive list for the world's best
4:43
whiskeys. Now, the rankings are determined by an international academy consisting of 100
4:48
independent global drinks buyers, journalists, bartenders, and whiskey experts. Now, Shea Waterworth, who is a editor at Drinks International, says
4:56
Michter's ticks all the boxes when it comes to being an admired whiskey brand
5:01
It honors traditional practice while pushing innovation. It has provenance without being old fashioned and its whiskey is exclusive but available in all the right places
5:10
And I think that's a huge statement to why everyone gets excited about Mictors
5:15
I mean, I just a couple of weeks ago reviewed the Bomb Burgers and the Schenks releases. But not only that, they're constantly putting out new limited editions
5:22
I saw they just announced their new third batch of the toasted sour mash whiskey
5:27
one that I've praised many times on the channel I just think it's a fantastic whiskey so they're
5:33
always doing the right thing so I thought in honor of that I'm going to pour myself a little bit of
5:37
this Michter's limited release barrel strength rye whiskey just to you know this isn't the review of
5:43
the podcast 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
5:51
the whole Michter family has built a powerful reputation with the global bar trade while the Quality of its whiskey is revered by the industry top experts I definitely encourage you guys to go check out this article on fredminnick They interview a lot of great names in the industry including Michter Executive Vice President
6:07
Matt Maglioccio. They also have a quote from the incredible Andrea Wilson, who is their
6:12
master of maturation, as well as their master distiller, Dan McKee. So I'm not going to go
6:17
through all the details. Like I said, check it out on fredminnick.com. It was posted on August
6:22
29th if you're curious. Yeah, cheers to those folks, and I'm gonna finish off this pour while
6:26
I get into the rest of this news. All right, just one more piece of whiskey news because we got some
6:31
upcoming video game releases to talk about. This one's coming to us from Konductan Creek. I've had
6:36
those folks on the channel a long, long time ago. It's been several years now, but according to
6:40
Cumming Whiskey on Instagram, which is an amazing account, make sure to go follow him, they have a
6:45
new release coming out called Draco Malt. Now, if you look at it, there's this giant dragon on the
6:51
front of the bottle. It is an American malt whiskey. It is a collaboration with Dragon Hops Brewing
6:58
Both Catoctin Creek and Dragon Hops Brewing are based in Virginia. These whiskeys are aged in the
7:03
Blue Ridge Mountains and I just think I love seeing this kind of collaboration between whiskey makers
7:09
and beer makers. I mean I just did a stream on YouTube with Copperworks Distilling out of Seattle
7:14
They are brewers at heart so they are taking some of the most beloved malts they're used for making
7:20
beer and turning it into an exceptional American single malt whiskey. So I love to see more of it
7:26
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 podcast. I just love the label. I love anything
7:34
with dragons. Draco malt. I think I'm pronouncing it right. It could be Draco malt, like Dracula or
7:40
Draco. I think I'm more like Draco Malfoy. I don't know why, but it's D-R-A-C-O-M-A-L-T. So
7:47
keep an eye out for that. I would love to have those folks on the channel again. So maybe I
7:51
should reach out to them about this. It seems very, very exciting. Congrats on this new release
7:56
All right. I know we flew through those news stories because honestly, there really wasn't
8:01
a lot of big whiskey news this week, at least that I came across. I already talked about all
8:05
the LEs 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
8:11
of the podcast so you'll have to bear with me okay i record these usually on monday night so
8:17
sometimes if something breaks on tuesday mornings i might miss it if that does happen you can always
8:22
check out the bourbon bites gaming and whiskey lounge discord server we have a whiskey news
8:27
channel there where people share the latest and breaking whiskey news if you're not yet on our
8:31
discord definitely check it out it's a great community i always say a whiskey loving friends
8:35
it's a relatively small community people on patreon and the bite club get access to some exclusive
8:40
rooms like our after party hangouts that happen every thursday night after live streams our
8:44
tasting hangouts that happen at the 50 tier where i send you a sample box every month and our tipsy
8:50
gaming hangout where we sometimes just get really drunk and play peak or we play uh cards against
8:55
humanity whatever we're feeling it's it's just an awesome community of friends check it out
8:59
bourbonbites.com there's a link to it on the website there you can also go to the website to
9:04
find all the merch for the channel support the channel for as little as two dollars a month
9:08
and keep up with all the latest podcasts and YouTube videos out there
9:12
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
9:18
Not every update that I release to my members, but there are some updates that I release for every free member as well
9:24
So check it out, bourbonbites.com. All right, now that I'm done with my plug
9:28
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
9:34
This is when a lot of video games are announced. Same with Ellie's Whiskies. and we have a lot to talk about now i think the most anticipated video game release of this month
9:43
is the recently announced hollow knight silk song people have been dying for a sequel to the hollow
9:50
knight game the original game came out back in 2017 as an indie game and people have been begging
9:56
and anticipating a sequel so they came out at gamescom and announced that the new hollow knight
10:02
silksong is going to be released on the 4th of september yes today um and i'm very very excited
10:08
to see how this game does now i don't think i've played hollow knight since back probably when it
10:13
first came out in 2017 i know it is a beloved game and i can't wait to replay it i definitely
10:18
want to replay it before i start the new one um but what a surprise announcement i think everyone
10:23
was shocked by how quickly this game was announced and not only is it coming out this week it's only
10:28
going to be $20. They are keeping the original pricing structure from Hollow Knight. They're not
10:32
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 release. Yes, it is an
10:43
indie game, but it is a much anticipated indie game and it's going to be released at $20 when
10:49
it comes out this week. So if you've not yet bought it, check it out. It's absolutely one of
10:53
my favorite styles of game a 2d platformer definitely just nostalgic about all those
10:58
games of the past but it brings some modern features that I'm very very excited for so
11:02
you can definitely check out all the details on this new release I don't want to spoil it if you
11:07
are trying to stay in the dark about it because I know a lot of people are they want to be surprised with the game but just know that's coming out this week it's going to be available on all the
11:15
operating system from Linux to Mac to Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 PlayStation 4 PlayStation
11:20
5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X. Yeah, I think that covers all of them. But congratulations to
11:27
that team. I'm so excited to see a new release. I mean, it's been eight years coming and I am
11:31
so excited to see how it does. I haven't read any reviews or anything yet. I want to experience it
11:36
first myself. So if you guys play it, let me know how you feel about it. I'm just so excited. Now
11:41
there are quite a few other games coming out this month, many of which I'm not super familiar with
11:47
but I'm going to run through a list in case any of these catch your eye or ear I guess since this
11:53
is the podcast uh Metal Eden comes out on September 2nd Demon School 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
12:04
giants chronos the new dawn is coming out on september 5th nba 2k 26 is also coming out on
12:10
september 5th borderlands 4 is making its debut september 12th dying light the beast is coming
12:16
out september 19th the latest installment in the silent hill franchise silent hill f is coming out
12:21
September 23rd. And Lego Party, which is meant to be kind of be a competitor for Mario Party
12:27
is coming out on September 30th. That's definitely one that I'm very interested in picking up. The
12:32
Lego games have surprised me by just being excellent games. And it's nice to see kind of
12:37
a competition for Mario Party because I like Mario Party, don't get me wrong, but I kind of
12:41
think it relies a lot on nostalgia. Whereas I think Lego Party coming in and bringing something new
12:45
to that type of gameplay is very, very exciting. So let me know which of those releases you're most
12:51
excited for if I missed one that you're excited for let me know I'd love to feature it on a future
12:55
episode dive a little deeper like I said there's so many things coming out it's hard for me to keep
12:59
up with it these are just some of the highlights I've been seeing across all of the gaming news
13:03
websites and message boards this is what everyone's excited about so if I missed your favorite game
13:07
I'm sorry let me know I'll love to feature it on a future episode but that does it for the news
13:13
portion of the podcast now I am very very excited to get into today's bite-sized review
13:18
all right well today's review excites me in so many ways um not only was it sent to me by
13:33
amazing patron of the channel and viewer michael but it was a collaboration between a whiskey
13:38
reviewer and one of my favorite industry experts in the world of bourbon especially bourbon blending
13:45
But it's not a bourbon. This is a Scotch whiskey from Compass Box
13:51
So what I'm reviewing today is the Compass Box Transatlanticism Blended Malt
13:56
This is a 2024 release. It is a collaboration between Take, who is a Reddit and also blog famous whiskey reviewer
14:04
He's been doing it since 2017. Jay, go check him out. Not just that, he collaborated with one of my favorite people in the industry, Will Schragus, formerly of Barrel Craft Spirits
14:15
I've had one on the channel at least two or three times. He's since moved on to become the founder
14:19
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 Barrel and he just was the mastermind of some of these crazy blends. I mean
14:29
you know, Barrel Seagrass, he was kind of the guy behind that. So I love to see someone who is coming
14:34
from inside the industry, but in a very specifically American whiskey approach and taking someone who
14:41
like Take, I hope I'm pronouncing this right, it's T-8-K-E. Honestly, I've never said it out loud
14:47
so I've always just said Take, but maybe I'm wrong about that. J, I'll just call him J
14:51
Taking both of their expertise, taking their like palettes and their loves for different whiskeys
14:56
and going across the pond over to London and visiting Compass Box and working with their
15:01
team there to create a whiskey that satisfies both of their palettes. The story behind it is
15:08
incredible there's a whole blog post if you go to um take's website it's t8ke.com they have a
15:14
whole article about this release and their journey over to london back in 2024 to make this blend
15:20
so what they're starting with in this blend is an extra aged high proof 13 year old spice tree
15:26
release y'all know compass box spice tree it's been out on the market for a long time but they
15:30
apparently were holding some of it back at a high age and uncut so they tasted this and fell in love
15:36
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 9-year-old Linkwood, some First Fill Vinsanto cask matured 9-year Kleinleash, some First Fill X Bourbon barrel matured 13-year Kleinleash, but that's not all
15:56
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 Milton Duff
16:08
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
16:16
these guys were so excited about the blend they you know took a little bit with them kind of
16:20
thought on it while the rest of their trip went on and then came back and just hands down decided
16:24
this is what they want this whiskey to be released as so it is a 51.1 abv non-chill filtered blended
16:32
scotch whiskey they only had 1032 bottles and only 999 of these ended up in the u.s
16:38
so again thank you michael for the sample i'm so glad and honored to have a chance to try this
16:43
pricing is $199 and the name transatlanticism kind of speaks to their journey one's an influencer and
16:50
one is a blender coming together going across the pond out to our good friends at the compass box
16:56
and making what they believe is an exceptional blend all right enough talking about it let's go
17:02
ahead and give this compass box transatlanticism a nose oh surprisingly bright I was reading the
17:08
ingredients and I kind of thought I was going to go a bit darker on the nose but this is more lively
17:13
a little more fruity like almost like a bit of a brighter like pear or something in that territory
17:21
honestly one of my favorite compass box releases is orchard house and it's just like a shelfer
17:26
it's one that's only you know like 50 but it's one that i constantly rebuy and rebuy because it
17:31
has that note of like pears and you know like apples and this kind of on the nose weirdly
17:36
reminds me of that when i go in a little bit deeper on the nose i do start to find some of
17:40
those red fruits that I would associate with a sherry. Like I said some of this is matured
17:44
in muscatel casks as well as Vensanto casks. And doing a quick google search I see that Vensanto
17:50
wines are an Italian wine They are full and they are a very sweet dessert wine So definitely getting in some of those darker notes from that cask Honestly I getting a little bit of like an amaretto note which I think you know could be coming from those Vensanto wines Of course amaretto being an almond liqueur
18:07
also Italian, believe it or not. But there's definitely some darker, richer notes. They're
18:12
just a little bit buried under that bright pear note that I'm getting on the nose. It's pretty
18:16
rare that I find a whiskey that's so layered on the nose. I'm always, you know, looking for a
18:21
layered palette, something that kind of evolves and takes you on a journey when you're drinking it
18:26
But nosing it, that rarely happens, but it's definitely happening with this glass
18:30
Really, really great nose, and I would expect nothing less from Take and Wilshagas
18:35
All right, let's go for a taste. Like I said, this is 51.1% ABV, so don't know if it's necessarily
18:40
cast strength, but that's relatively high proof. I'm excited to see it. All right, cheers
18:44
hmm yum wow there's some really mature whiskey in there you know I think single malt whiskey and
18:52
even Irish whiskey in a way expresses itself in such a unique way when it gets you know beyond
18:58
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
19:03
whiskeys except older malt whiskeys and that's what I noticed first this is a very mature very
19:08
complex blend of scotch whiskeys but with that there is a lot of character from those other casks
19:15
beyond just a bourbon barrel cask again i'm getting a lot of red fruit on the palate more so than on
19:20
the nose the nose was definitely more in the lighter orchard fruit kind of category on the
19:24
palate to me it's richer got a little bit more mouthfeel that proof is absolutely fantastic i
19:31
have a couple single barrels that are higher proof but a lot of compass box i have is in the you know
19:35
45% range. So bumming up to 51 is a welcomed addition here. I think that may have been
19:41
influenced by our friends, um, Take and Will Shragus. I know they are both fans of cast-torn
19:46
whiskey. Yeah, the, the red wine influence to me is the more dominant palate here. It's got a little
19:52
bit of the, the almond note that I was getting on the nose, but it's definitely more subdued
19:56
Same with those orchard notes. To me, this is like a red fruit. Um, it kind of reminds me of a bit of
20:01
of Fig Newton, which is a note that I give to a lot of Sherry Cask scotches. It's got a it's like
20:06
a sweet fig filling. It's not just necessarily like a fig. It's got like a bit of that like
20:10
granulated sugar there as well. A bit of like a I guess marmalade. I don't know what you would call
20:15
it. What would you call the filling inside of a Fig Newton? I guess it's kind of like a paste
20:19
I don't know. I'm not a food expert. I'm just giving you what comes to my mind first when I
20:23
taste this whiskey. It's giving a bready Fig Newton. Definitely a lot of bread notes. A lot of like
20:28
I guess shortbread, I guess you could say. A little bit like a Twinkie, but if you fill the
20:33
Twinkie with Fig Newton filling, okay, I'll stop here. But you know what I'm saying? It's not like
20:37
that smelling freshly baked bread, a little bit over toasted bread. I do love that note
20:42
but that's not what I'm getting here. It's definitely more of a sweet, sweet, bready
20:47
confectionery note. And I'll say finish is about the same. It's a bit of a medium finish. It's not
20:52
super crazy, but it does linger with those fruity notes on the palate. Again, that fig note is just
20:58
dominating here and I do like it. Overall, a really delicious blend. I love the fact that I
21:04
had a chance to try it. Let's talk a little bit bang for your buck because it's a category I've
21:08
been trying to introduce more in my reviews, especially over on Reddit. At $199, this is a
21:13
very limited release. Like I said, less than a thousand bottles were available in the US
21:17
It is a fun collaboration between two masterminds of whiskey. If I were to have bought a bottle at
21:23
retail for the $199. I would have not been disappointed at all. This doesn't quite necessarily
21:29
hit my favorite flavor profiles that I get from Compass Box. It kind of teases at them. It's funny
21:34
because it like gives me a lot of what I love about Orchard House on the nose, but on the palate
21:39
it kind of reminds me of some of those Glasgow blend, you know, single barrels that I've seen at
21:43
other liquor stores. So it's kind of taking some elements that I love from all across the Compass
21:48
Box lineup and mixing them together. I don't think it's bad by any means. I think it's a great
21:53
experience. It definitely takes you on a journey and that's what I love about a good blended whiskey
21:59
Really really appreciate the work that went into here. It just isn't quite my favorite flavor
22:03
profile. If I had to give this a ranking for myself I would probably give it about a six and a half
22:08
out of ten. Mainly just to recognize the craft behind this. There's some really old whiskeys
22:13
here. This is a great price to get these. I haven't once felt like Compass Box overcharges. I know they
22:18
have some more premium releases but I think they charge a very fair price for the quality
22:23
of the whiskey that goes into their products. So I don't think it's overpriced
22:27
but just for me personally, it's not quite my favorite flavor profile, even though I'm finding things that I love about the nose
22:32
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
22:37
if you had a chance to try it. But man, am I am happy and lucky to try this release
22:43
So again, shout out to Michael on Discord, who is a Bite Club member. You're amazing
22:47
Thank you for sharing this with me. Such an interesting pour with an even better story
22:52
So I'm glad to share my review of it here today with you guys. All right
22:56
Well, I think that about does it for this week's podcast. Thank you all for listening
23:00
I know I kind of rushed through the news a little bit, but there wasn't too much to talk about this week
23:04
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
23:11
have it answered on the stream, you can give me a call at 916-64-BYTEZ or 916-642-9837
23:19
You can also email me, contact at bourbonbites.com. If you have suggestions or maybe you are a brand rep and you want to send me samples for review, I'm always happy to do that as well
23:28
So definitely reach out at Bourbon Bites on your favorite social media platform
23:33
Otherwise, thank you all so much for listening. This has been the Bourbon Bites Podcast, a bourbon podcast with a gaming twist
23:39
Cheers. I'll talk to you guys next episode
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