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Compass Box Flaming Heart 2022 Edition
Like metal bands, some whiskies need an audience – others command one. FLAMING HEART has always enjoyed performing to passionate fans.
Oak, smoke, and fire reunite for a seventh time, fusing pyrotechnics with deliciousness. The whisky is built around a new power trio of peated malts from the Carl Ila, Laphroaig, and Talisker distilleries, while spice from our trademark French oak custom barrels delivers both loudness and a luxurious mouthfeel.
As well as being perhaps the fruitiest FLAMING HEART of recent years, you will experience a very special encore that combines remnant stocks of Peat Monster Arcana, our release for Belgian importer The Nectar’s 15th anniversary, and a little of the 2018 version of FLAMING HEART. We love the connection to musical sampling, bringing past smoky riffs into a new arrangement.
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Compass Box Hedonism 2024 Release
Hello. Welcome to the world of Hedonism.
Created as our first whisky in 2000, Hedonism has always defied convention. It pays homage to the tradition of grain whisky distillation in Scotland while pushing the boundaries of Scotch whisky flavor and presentation.
As one of the rare 100% Scotch grain whiskies, Hedonism challenges preconceived notions, offering a window into the world of grain whiskies often overshadowed by their malt whisky counterparts. It has a soft texture on the palate, delivering flavors that dance between sweet notes of vanilla, toffee, and pastry cream.
Over the years (and perhaps due in part to our efforts), demand for high-quality grain whisky has increased throughout Scotland, making the caliber of whisky we require for Hedomisn ever harder to find. So, from 2024, Hedomisn will appear in limited quantities, released once a year, each an annual interpretation of the classic Hedonism style.
The hedonism label has always proudly featured the image of a woman – something Scotch whisky had never done before. Now, for each their own, individual way – the grace and strength that our original label illustration represented. This inaugural release features a piece by Edinburgh-based artist Stephanie New, who combines traditional Early Renaissance gilding techniques with a contemporary painterly style.
To us, Hedonism is more than a whisky. It’s an idea that transcends time and tradition in Scotch Whisky. It’s an invitation to share in the pleasures of whisky and the creative imagination. It’s the embodiment of the Compass Box ethos.
– John Glaser, Founder & Whiskymaker
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Compass Box Hedonism 2025 Release
Hedonism Limited Annual Release 2025
Created as our first whisky in 2000, Hedonism has always defied convention. It pays homage to the tradition of grain whisky distillation in Scotland, while pushing the boundaries of Scotch.
Hedonism challenges preconceived notions, offering a window into the world of grain whiskies often overshadowed by their malt whisky counterparts. It has a soft texture on the palate, delivering flavours that dance between sweet notes of vanilla, toffee, and pastry cream.
Over the years, demand for high-quality grain whisky has increased throughout Scotland, making the calibre of whisky we require for Hedonism ever harder to find. So, in 2024, Hedonism became a limited annual release, appearing once a year in limited quantities – each a different interpretation of the classic Hedonism style.
The Hedonism label has always proudly featured the image of a woman – something Scotch whisky had never done before, so for each annual release, we commission a different female artist to bring to life the strength that our original label illustration represented. This year, for our second release, Argentinian artist Sofia Bonati, who creates striking female portraits that invite you into a dreamlike world, has reimagined the Hedonism woman once again.
To us, Hedonism is more than a whisky. It’s an idea that transcends time and tradition in Scotch whisky. It’s an invitation to share in the pleasures of whisky and the creative imagination. It’s the embodiment of the Compass Box ethos.
LIMITED RELEASE OF 12,000 BOTTLES
Lead Whiskymaker: James Saxon
Colour: No Colour Added
Filtration: Light 5 Micron, No Chill-Filtration
Bottled: October 2024
Product of Scotland
46% ALC./VOL -
Compass Box Hedonism Felicitas
$119.99Compass Box Hedonism Felicitas pays tribute to the whisky that launched our business 20 years ago. It is intended to convey the good fortune and happiness we feel, having met and worked with so many remarkable people in our first to decades.
To create Compass Box Hedonism Felicitas, we have blended together three whiskies distilled in three different decades to create Hedonism Felicitas. Whiskies from Strathelyde, Port Dundas and North British Distilleries contribute flavours of soft apricot and Chantilly cream, passion fruit and buttery toffee.
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Compass Box Magic Cask
When we began a maturation trial in 2016, we hadn’t expected the whiskies to develop such deliciousness in so short a period of time. One-year-old malt spirit, made at a Speyside distillery famous for the robust character of its whiskies, was re-racked into first fill Oloroso-seasoned butts. Sampling them three years later, one particular cask – #2 – proved so compelling that we began to experiment. A parcel of first fill Bourbon barrels containing whisky from the now closed Imperial Distillery had sat in our sample library for some years. Though delicious in its own right, as whiskymakers we couldn’t hit on the ideal match. The much younger malt whisky from the Oloroso-seasoned cask proved the ideal means to deepen the fruity and creamy profile of this rare parcel.
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Compass Box Menagerie
WHISKY IS FULL OF LIFE. Scotland especially is home to many different species of spirit, from heavy to light, fruity to smoky, and pungent to ethereal. Certain whiskies taste that little bit wilder than others, and we have brought together some of these strange and beautiful creatures to create our MENAGERIE.
Malt whisky from the Mortlach Distillery is renowned for its complexity, but enthusiasts seek out its meaty side in particular. The parcel we have selected Burts with fruitiness, but underneath we found contrasting scents of worn leather and roast lamb.
To this we have added malt whiskies from the Deanston Distillery for their citrusy top notes and animalic, forest floor aromas. Our Highland Malt Blend – aged for a number of years in custom French oak barrels – lends a thrilling and brooding spiciness, while malt whiskies from the Glen Elgin Distillery bring exotic fruitiness and musky leather. Lastly, scents of the primordial tar pit come courtesy of malt whisky from the Laphroaig Distillery.
Rather than a raucous zoo, bringing these specimens together has created harmonious flavours and textures. Gentle notes of spiced honey, toffee and roasted peach are the flavours on which MENAGERIE’s wild creature’a leap and soar.
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Compass Box Metropolis The Extinct Blends Quartet
The Extinct Blends Quartet
Fashions change, and formulae follow suit. Blended whiskers of the 1970s, ’80s, and ‘90s are very different to today’s versions, even when the brand name remains the same. The Extinct Blends Quartet, as it unfolds, will reimagine four of our favorite blended Scotches from yesteryear, using some of our rarest and most idiosyncratic stocks of whisky.
Metropolis
For the third release in the series, we step into the Throng of a striving city. Industriousness jostles up against elaborate architecture; people and provisions from diverse places mingle; commerce meets culture.
Blended Whisky began in the metropolis, with blending Scotch with a long history and a strong link to a Sir Walter Scott novel in which a number of urban centres are referenced. Therefore, we have chosen a city as the setting for our reimagining of this oak-forward and revered whisky.
If Metropolis were an actual city, its chief thoroughfares and grand buildings would equate to the shortbread and honey notes contribute by malt whiskies from the Arberlour and Miltonduff distilleries. A parcel of blended Scotch Whisky further matured in Sherry butts brings a fatness and dried fruit richness, acting as a bridge over a river of creamy and zesty grain whisky from the Bowmore Distillery. Charming, refined, and alive with energy, Metropolis reflects the excitement and richness of life in the city.
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Compass Box Nectarosity Blended Malt Scotch
Behind the most exquisite patisseries are test kitchens of invention. Places buzzing with energy where chefs obsess over every flake of fractured crust, every curl of custard cream,
Part artistry, part alchemy, this is mastery at work. And when their experimentation creates true harmony of flavour, it has to be shared. Because generosity drives this endeavour. If nectar is the food of the gods, and joy comes from celebrating with others, then we need a new word for that irresistible urge. And that word is ‘Nectarosity’.
Process
Special American oak barrels are deployed twice. First to impart sweet spice to grain spirit, which finishes maturing in other casks. Once ‘prepared’, the barrels age malt whisky. We expertly blend these two characterful whiskies with selected others to dial up the fruit and toffee notes.
Flavour
Joyously zesty with honey, lychee, juicy apricot and pineapple. Toffee and vanilla pull off a palate takeover, with lasting flavours of cinnamon bun.
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Compass Box Nectarosity Blended Scotch Whisky
Behind the most exquisite patisseries are test kitchens of invention. Places buzzing with energy where chefs obsess over every flake of fractured crust, every curl of custard cream,
Part artistry, part alchemy, this is mastery at work. And when their experimentation creates true harmony of flavour, it has to be shared. Because generosity drives this endeavour. If nectar is the food of the gods, and joy comes from celebrating with others, then we need a new word for that irresistible urge. And that word is ‘Nectarosity’.
Process
Special American oak barrels are deployed twice. First to impart sweet spice to grain spirit, which finishes maturing in other casks. Once ‘prepared’, the barrels age malt whisky. We expertly blend these two characterful whiskies with selected others to dial up the fruit and toffee notes.
Flavour
Zesty with honey, poached pears, nectarine and lychee, then juicy apricot and pineapple excite the palate. Toffee, vanilla and butterscotch sauce follow, with a lasting flavour of cinnamon bun
Recommendations
Technical details
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Compass Box No Name No. 3
THE RUCHED CURTAIN RISES ON A BIG-BONED, BALLETIC, AND FLAMBOYANTLY PEATY NEW WHISKY. IT BOASTS CONSIDERABLE STAGE PRESENCE, DESPITE HAVING NO NAME.
Each installment on the No Name series has followed a common structure: one heavily-peated malt whisky dominates, tempered by malt whisky of a complementary but subtle smokiness. These are supported with unpeated malt whiskies which convey fruitiness, elegance, and spicy sweetness.
With No Name, No. 3, our sequence exploring Scotch whisky’s smoky spectrum can come to a fitting conclusion. Fans of the first No Name will recognize a strumming tarry intensity, while the fruity fragrance hinted at in No Name, No. 2 has been given a tropical makeover. Seaweedy and barbecue-scented single malt from the Laphroaig Distillery lending compelling hints of mango pineapple at the very limits of ripeness.
We feel that the pettiness of No Name, No. 3 has an operatic quality to it; vibrant and expansive, wild yet graceful, there is also considerable weight and resonance. Experience it neat, perhaps in the dark, when a little drama is called for.
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Compass Box Nova Reserve 15th Anniversary
As Reserve 101 celebrates their 15th anniversary, we have created a whisky with them to mark the beginning of the next adventure.
Owner Sean Fitzmaurice shares the Compass Box mission of making whisky more interesting; Reserve 101’s tagline is ‘whiskey rebellious – cocktail curious.’
Nova Reserve 15th Anniversary has a complex richness and whispering peat. Taking whiskies from Speyside, aged in Oloroso sherry-seasoned casks, as well as a subtle smokiness from a parcel of aged blended scorch, we built in oiliness and custard-like richness courtesy of a blended grain whisky that had spent time in Madeira casks.
Bottled at 101 ‘proof’ and with an intriguing gravitational pull thanks to the array of wine casks used, we see this as a fantastic accomplishment for Reserve 101’s next mission to Mars.
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Compass Box Orchard House Blended Malt Scotch
Fruit-forward & spirit-driven
What is more universally delicious than ripe fruit? Even the greatest chefs have been known to serve a simple dish of strawberries or a single, perfect peach as a dessert.
Orchard House gathers together some of the fruitiest malts Scotland has to offer, including whiskies from the Linkwood and Clynelish distilleries; what’s more, we have sourced many of these whiskies as new spirit and laid them down in our own oak casks. This, our monument to fresh fruitiness in Scotch whisky, has been many years in the making.
When neat or poured over a large ice cube, Orchard House makes for an outstanding pre-dinner malt. It will ably partner amber and pale ales, as well as swathes of soft cheeses. Welcome to our home among the fruit trees – the door is unlocked.
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Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana
$69.99Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana is a single malt Scotch whisky that has been partially aged in custom French oak casks, non-chill filtered and bottled at 46%. Compass Box Peat Monster Arcana investigates how smoky whisky interacts with French oak. The majority of the recipe comprises waxy and delicately smoky malt whisky from the Talisker Distillery, while small amounts of malt whisky from the Ardbeg and Miltonduff Distilleries lend flavors of tarry peat and a charming fruitiness, respectively.
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Compass Box Secrets of Smoke
Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch, Whisky/Whiskey, Blended Malt Whiskey, Brands, Compass Box, AlcoholIn the world of peated Scotch malt whisky, intensity of smokiness tends to dominate the discussion. What is often overlooked is the inherent sweetness of peated malts, hidden behind the bonfires.
Over the years, we have experimented with further maturing peated whiskies in sherry and wine casks.
For Secrets of Smoke, we allow those wine casks to crack the smoky outer shell and release the unexpected sweetness at the core of peated whiskies. Palo Cortado sherry-seasoned butts enhancing the toffee apple qualities of malt whisky from Cool Ila Distillery. Refill red wine barrels tempt bright cherry notes from the depths of The Peat Monster, our own assemblage of Islay malts. And those Marsala barriques bring blueberry flapjack flavors to the surface of malt whisky from the Laphroaig Distillery. Taste beyond the smoke screen. Discover the secret world of sweetness within smoke.
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Compass Box The Circle No. 2
A whisky brought to you by synaesthesia. The Circle’s Sherry-aged warmth and bright tropical aromas perfectly capture the taste of the colour coral. Made in collaboration with The Circle 2019 winner, Mannie Monaghan.
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Compass Box The Extinct Blends Quartet Delos
The Extinct Blends Quartet
Fashions change, and formulae suit. Blended whiskies of the 1970s, ’80s, and ‘90s are very different from today’s versions, even when the brand name remains the same. The Extinct Blends Quartet as it unfolds will reimagine four of our favorite blended Scotches from yesteryear, using some of our rarest and most idiosyncratic stocks of whisky.
Delos
Following on the Ultramarine, the series continues with Delos. This whisky takes its name from the Island said to be the birthplace of Apollo in Greek mythology and is modeled on one of our own lost whiskies: Asyla.
With Delos, we have focused on capturing Asyla’s vibrancy and soothing sweetness, turning to older stocks to achieve this. First created in 2001, Asyla was the ethereally beautiful cornerstone of our cote range until its retirement in 2018. ‘Asyla’ is the plural form of the word ‘asylum’ and suggests places of safety, sanctuary, or retreat; a glass of this delicate, American-oak accented blended Scotch always felt like a holiday to us.
Littered with mosaics and ruined ancient temples, the island of Delos embodies the ideal of a beautiful, classical sanctuary. It is the perfect name for a whisky that reimagines Asyla using antique, rarefied components. Malt whiskies from the Glen Elgin, Imperial, and Miltonduff distilleries – all from American oak barrels – bring enticing exotic fruit and vanilla notes while lush and fragrant grain whisky preserves the delicate mouthfeel that was Asyla’s hallmark.
Like the antique mosaics of the Greek islands, too many pieces are missing to restore Asyla to our range permanently. However, the liquid contained within Delos allows us a brief escape to a new island paradise that is nevertheless familiarly sumptuous and meditative.
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Compass Box The Peat Monster Cask Strength
Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch, Whisky/Whiskey, Cask Strength Whiskey, Brands, Compass Box, AlcoholWhile The Peat Monster may boast purely Scottish ancestry, this is a whisky born in the USA. To mark its 20th birthday, and to celebrate America’s influence on Scotch whisky more broadly, we have brought The Peat Monster back to where it all began.
We originally created a peaty whisky called Monster for the Goldstein family at Park Avenue Liquor Shop in New York City, in 2003. It turned out to be so popular that we created a new batch, renamed it The Peat Monster and it joined our core range. The Peat Monster – like most Scottish whiskies – owes its maturation vessels to the US whisk(e)y industry and its practice of using casks only once. To highlight the art of America cooperating even further, we have finished part of the whisky used for this special Limited Edition in seasoned American oak barrels, made for us in Missouri. You will notice an increased presence of vanilla and cinnamon notes compared to The Peat Monster you may be familiar with.
Finally, whisky enthusiasts across the Pond tend to prefer higher ‘proof’ liquors, so we offer this expression of complex pettiness at cask strength. We are confident that fans of our releases in other parts of the world will be pleased, too! Wherever you enjoy your whisky, join us in toasting two decades of The Peat Monster and the close whisky-making ties linking Scotland with America.
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Compass Box Transatlanticism Blended Malt Scotch
In the Spring of 2024, T8KE and Schragis voyaged across the Atlantic to visit us in London, carrying with them a love of collaboration and, above all else, whisky.
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.
Compass Box and Project Optimist present you with 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. Higher proof (51.1 ABV), non-chill filtered, the contents of this bottle are deep yet easy to love. We look forward to hearing tales of how Transatlanticism fares in the new world when T8KE and Schragis next venture this side of the Pond.
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Compass Box Ultramarine Blended Scotch
Ultramarine launches the Extinct Blends Quartet and is our reimagining of a deluxe Scotch that emerged in the late 1980s. The first few batches of this iconic whisky were based around characterful stocks of malt and grain, drawn from Scotland’s Whisky Loch of the late 70s and early 80s. While still a fascinating product toady, a compelling antique quality can be found in the earliest bottlings.
Meaning ‘beyond the sea’, Ultramarine builds upon peated malts, Sherry maturation, and bold creamy grain whisky. Like the three releases that will follow, we have used our imagination and extremely tasty parcels of whisky to offer modern interpretations on great blended Scotch of the past.
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Compass Box Vellichor
Vellichor, n – the scent of second-hand bookshops
On discovering this marvelous new word, we began a quest to recreate the fragrance using Scotch whisky. Parcels were considered, identified, and pursued. The process can be compared to scouring second-hand bookshops for specific volumes.
Our search met with success when a distiller and bottler in the north of Scotland offered us casks of whiskies which had been blended together in the past, before being returned to ex-Sherry butts for further maturation. Whiskies, like old books, contain their own stories.
We combined these Sherry-matured stocks with bold and mature malt whiskies from the Macallan, Highland Park, and Caol Ila distilleries. The aroma is highly evocative for anyone with a fondness for books; the taste evolves and intensifies as any good political thriller or historical romance should.
A tribute to the storytelling potential of blended Scotch whisky, and the atmospheres of our favourite book stores.
Bottled at 44.6% ABV
Not chill-filtered
Natural colour
Lead Whiskymaker: James Saxon -
Conecuh Ridge Clyde May’s 9 Year Old Rye Whiskey
Aged a minimum of 9 years, our straight rye whiskey has a nose full of oats, honeysuckle, and apricot. With a prominent backbone of spiciness on the palate, experience deepening flavors of fresh coffee beans and cacao nibs after each sip. Best enjoyed on the rocks or served in a Manhattan straight up.
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Conneaut Cellars Woolly Ganesh Single Malt Whiskey
American Whiskey, American Single Malt Whiskey, Whisky/Whiskey, Brands, Conneaut Cellars Distillery, AlcoholConneaut Cellars Woolly Ganesh Single Malt Whiskey is bottled by Conneaut Cellars Distillery, Conneaut Lake, PA. Bottled at 41% ALC/VOL (82 Proof)
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Connoisseurs Choice Glenburgie Distillery 31 Year Old
Brands, Glenburgie Distillery, Gordon & Macphail, Whisky/Whiskey, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Scotch, AlcoholThe Connoisseurs Choice range was created in 1968 by visionary, ‘MR George’ Urquhart, to showcase seldom seen single malts when most whisky was used for blends.
Tasting Notes: Dark forest fruit aromas complement clove spice and rich stewed apple. Smooth morello cherry flavors accompany dark chocolate and toasted almonds. A full finish with mature oak and bitter marmalade.
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Connoisseurs Choice Glentauchers Distillery 31 Year Old
Brands, Glentauchers Distillery, Gordon & Macphail, Whisky/Whiskey, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Scotch, AlcoholThe Connoisseurs Choice range was created in 1968 by visionary, ‘MR George’ Urquhart, to showcase seldom seen single malts when most whisky was used for blends.
Tasting Notes: Rich fruitcake aromas combine with cinnamon spice and dark toffee. Stewed fruit and bitter dark chocolate flavors are balanced by cracked black pepper. A full finish with forest fruit, clove, and orange.
