Farewell to a Whisky Maverick: John Glaser’s Departure Marks a New Chapter for Compass Box
Compass Box, the Scotch whisky blending firm that John Glaser established twenty years ago, is about to see John Glaser depart.
In 2000, Glaser—an American expat and former marketing director at Johnnie Walker—founded Compass Box with the goals of reviving the blended whiskey industry, dispelling long-standing myths and assumptions about the category, and advocating for more openness in Scotch whisky.
Products like the Spaniard, Peat Monster, Asyla, and the revolutionary blended grain whisky Hedonism—which was reintroduced as a yearly release last month—exemplified its approach and brought Glaser and Compass Box fame on a global scale.
Nevertheless, Glaser said last week that he was leaving the company “after an extraordinary 23-year journey,” even if he is still employed as a whisky maker for the enterprise. Everyone knows he’s planning to quit in the spring.
It wasn’t an easy choice, but he feels it’s time to hand over the reigns to the new management and start a new chapter in his career.
As I begin this next journey, I want you to know that the Compass Box brand means the world to me. As an enthusiastic supporter, stakeholder, and advocate for Compass Box, I will never stop fighting for the company. I have faith that the brand will keep growing and changing.
Some major players in the international drinks industry have taken notice of Compass Box due to its stellar reputation. From 2015 until 2022, Bacardi maintained a minority interest in the business. In the same year, Caelum Capital, an investment group located in London, took a majority interest in the company. The CEO at the time, Maurice Doyle, had previously worked for Bacardi and had vast knowledge of the drinks industry.
