Compass Box Celestial - The Extinct Blends Quartet

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 50% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Compass Box Celestial is the fourth and final release in the Extinct Blends Quartet. This Blended Scotch reinterprets a powerful blend from the 1960s and is the peatiest release in the series. Its smoky foundation comes from Ardbeg and Caol Ila components that had already been brought together six years earlier for the original No Name. Whiskymaker James Saxon led the creation of this limited release of 5,532 bottles. The whisky was bottled in November 2023 at 50%, without added colouring or chill filtration.

The recipe brings together eleven components with different cask influences. Alongside Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Pulteney and Glen Elgin, it includes grain whiskies from Port Dundas and Cameronbridge. These are complemented by a Highland malt blend, whisky stocks from Amici Ad Vitam, Ultramarine and Tobias & The Angel, and another Blended Scotch from a Refill Sherry Butt. The cask selection includes recharred American oak casks, First-Fill and Refill Bourbon Barrels, previously used American oak Hogsheads and a custom-made, heavily toasted French oak cask. The powerful smoke initially recalls a beach bonfire before developing into the smoke of a coastal smokehouse. This variety accompanies a character that combines robust peat smoke with fruit, vanilla and ginger.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: Intense peat smoke leads the nose, with the scent of a beach bonfire. Behind it are spicy ginger, vanilla and grilled apples.
• Palate: The whisky is dry on the palate, with pronounced fresh oak spice. Meaty smoke gives way to notes of cooked tropical fruits.
• Finish: The finish is long. The smoke returns, accompanied by spicy ginger and ripe tropical fruits.

Distillery/Bottler:

Several Scottish distilleries, including Ardbeg and Caol Ila, produced the components; Compass Box is responsible for selecting and blending them to create Celestial. Founded in 2000, the company works from a Blending Room in Richmond, London, and holds its own stocks of maturing whisky in Scotland. Its work thus combines the development of blends with the management of stocks that can form the basis of future compositions.

Facts: