Collaborations

Compass Box x Project Optimist x T8KE Transatlanticism Blended Malt Scotch

  • In the Spring of 2024, T8ke and Schragis voyaged across the Atlantic to visit Compass Box in London, carrying with them a love of collaboration and, above all else, whisky.

    Compass Box and Project Optimist present this banger of a bottling, which marries two different worlds of whisky; the new world - blending to its own bold terms - meets the revered treasures of Scotch.

  • Distilled: Scotland (Various)

    Bottled: Compass Box 

    Blend Of:

    • Extra Aged, High Proof 13yr Spice Tree (23.3%)

    • First Fill Moscatel Matured 9yr Linkwood (35.2%)

    • First Fill Vin Santo Cask Matured 9yr Clynelish (9.4%)

    • First Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel Matured 13yr Clynelish (16.9%)

    • First Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel Matured 25yr Miltonduff (15.2%)

    ABV: 51.1% ABV 

    Yield: 1032 Bottles Produced, 999 Bottles Available in The US

    Details: Natural Color, Non-Chill-Filtered

  • With extreme optimism, together we produced “Transatlanticism.” This whisky is designed to be loud and structured, woody and full of fruit, honed with a sense of balance. Only this meeting of the minds could weave together a spirit this bold.

  • This bottle is exclusively available for purchase through Shared Pour.

Capreolus x Project Optimist Gooseberry Brandy

An exclusive Gooseberry eau de vie bottling carefully crafted by our friends at Capreolus Distillery in the Cotswolds.

  • Will and Jay have long been admirers of Barney Wilczak and the pristine elegance of the eaux de vie he makes at Capreolus Distillery, so it was a dream come true when they found a way to visit and select an exclusive bottling for the inaugural release of Project: Odes to Vie.

    The term “hand-crafted” barely encapsulates the extreme attention to detail that goes into everything at Capreolus where the human hand replaces the machine. The hand touches every piece of fruit and it takes the processing out of processing. The result all of this care is a liquid that is indulgent, expressive, bright and altogether masterful.

  • Distilled, Aging & Bottling: Cotswolds, England (Barney Wilczak, Capreolus Distillery)

    Fruit: Gooseberry

    Vintage: 2022

    Aging / Resting: Stainless Steel

    ABV: 43% ABV 

    A Note From The Distiller: In July 2022, eleven weeks to the day after my daughter was born, we stood with 2,000kg of fruit from our good friends, grown less than 30 miles away. Every single berry touched by hand, feeling for that moment between perfect ripeness and that shift to softness that indicates cooked notes, we removed every imperfect berry. Rolling the fruit back and forth over our mesh sorting table, we removed every leaf, our hands sharing the wax of the gooseberries skins. A long wild fermentation, triple distillation and maturation.

  • Nose: Lively and fresh, rich and wafting: rosewater, citrus, orange peel and lime burst with minerality and a freshness, expressive and lively. 

    Taste: Dense and viscous on the palate, silky and supple, velvety and satisfying; opulent and well structured. Notes of plum, citrus, a very faint sweetness meets with bright fruit character, rosewater, cardamom, a pinch of white pepper, gooseberry gooserberry gooseberry; white grape, indulgent complexity, structure, balance. Back palate houses the faintest prickle of acidity and a touch of tartness.

    Finish: Gorgeous and clean, rich and powerful: fruit meets minerality and a touch of crisp sweetness, pleasant acidity, and aromatics that hang and hang and hang. 

  • This exclusive bottling is a part of our quarterly eau de vie club. Our inaugural release is available by the bottle, and by the subscription.

    Will and Jay have a years long obsession with fruit distillates. With the passing of time, the pair have thought about, joked about, schemed about and finally set out to share the most interesting eaux de vie on the planet. Odes To Vie is a quarterly society bound by fruit and delivering incredible distillates once per quarter.

Klocke Estate x Project Optimist
Sour Cherry Eau de Vie

An exclusive Sour Cherry eau de vie artfully distilled by Klocke Estate in the Hudson Valley using hand-harvested fruit from their own orchards.

  • Klocke Estate is located in Claverack, just north of Hudson, in the heart of New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley. Founded in 2018, the estate was built on a vision: to create an old-world-style brandy distillery dedicated entirely to growing and sourcing fruit specifically for brandy production.

    To bring that vision to life, Klocke sourced traditional Charente stills, along with a custom Austrian-style eau-de-vie still. They also planted 60 acres of sustainable orchards and gardens—featuring apples, grapes, and other fruits—using varietals and growing methods chosen expressly for brandy, not wine or cider.

    From the orchards to the stills, Klocke has spared no expense in developing a world-class distillery and ecosystem. Much of what they’ve created is still aging—promising exceptional spirits in the years to come. Which is why we were thrilled to collaborate with them on the release of their very first eau de vie—exclusively for our quarterly Eau de Vie Club.

  • Distilled, Aging & Bottling: Hudson Valley, NY (Klocke Estate)

    Fruit: Sour Cherry

    Aging / Resting: Stainless Steel

    ABV: 42%

    Fermented on and distilled on its stones and rested for several months at varying head spaces pre-bottling

  • This exclusive bottling is a part of our quarterly eau de vie club.

    Will and Jay have a years long obsession with fruit distillates. With the passing of time, the pair have thought about, joked about, schemed about and finally set out to share the most interesting eaux de vie on the planet. Odes To Vie is a quarterly society bound by fruit and delivering incredible distillates once per quarter.