Compass Box Ultramarine - The Extinct Blends Quartet

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 51% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Ultramarine draws on the character of historic luxury blends, bringing together mature malt and grain whiskies with stocks of previously blended whisky. As the first release in the Extinct Blends Quartet, it takes particular inspiration from the sherry and pipe tobacco notes of a Blended Scotch whose early bottlings date from the late 1980s and early 1990s. James Saxon created the composition.

The whisky has a pronounced texture and a bold flavour.

The recipe comprises eleven components with different cask influences. Caol Ila from Refill Bourbon Barrels accounts for 18.7%, Girvan from First Fill Bourbon Barrels for 17.2%, and Glendullan from sherry-seasoned Butts filled with whisky for the first time for 15.6%. These are joined by 10.8% Blended Grain from Refill Bourbon Barrels and 9% Blended Malt from Refill Sherry Butts. A further 7.9% comes from a Highland Malt Blend matured in custom-made, heavily toasted French oak casks.

The blend is completed by 6% Cameronbridge from recharred Hogsheads, 4.8% Speyburn from Refill Hogsheads, 4.2% Glen Ord from First Fill Sherry Butts, 3.9% Blended Scotch from Refill Sherry Butts, and 1.9% Miltonduff from recharred Hogsheads. Bourbon and sherry cask maturation thus meet the influence of French oak. Refill denotes casks previously used to mature whisky, without specifying how many times they have been filled before.

This limited edition was bottled in August 2022 at 51%, with a worldwide release of 5,430 bottles. Its colour comes entirely from cask maturation, and it is not chill-filtered. The bottle contains 0.7 litres and comes in gift packaging. The name Ultramarine derives from the Latin ultramarinus, meaning “beyond the sea”, and also refers to a blue pigment that was historically especially precious.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, toffee and the scent of old, polished oak combine with layered peat notes.
• Palate: On the palate, roasted pecans and raisins meet smoke.
• Finish: The long finish brings a light note of crisp green apples and a lingering hint of grapefruit.

Distillery/Bottler:

Founded in 2000, Compass Box develops its blends in the Blending Room in Richmond, London. The company has no distillery of its own; instead, it selects whiskies from Scottish distilleries according to their individual flavour contributions. Alongside fully matured stocks, the team also acquires new-make spirit, allowing it to shape maturation through its own cask selection.

Its approach includes bespoke cask profiles developed with cooperages and the deliberate combination of different distillery and cask characters. For Ultramarine, this work serves a historical stylistic vision: mature individual components and existing blends are brought together in a new composition rather than expressing the style of a single distillery.

Facts: