The Archive

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A Walk Through Our Archive

Our mantra, “Long Live Interesting”, continuously encourages us to engage with the world around us. We’re always searching for different ways to approach concepts within the flavour territories of Scotch.

This call to arms has always been part of our DNA. Over the years our whiskymakers have experimented time and time again to bring you something different, something interesting. This means that our archive is rich with history and flavour.

Walk with us through some of our favourite archive whiskies below.

GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN

We begin our round-up with something close to our hearts at Compass Box: grain whisky. Our very first whisky, Hedonism, was the first blended grain whisky released to market, at a time when grain whiskies were not prized as highly as they are today.

Over the years we’ve retained a soft-spot for these often overlooked parcels of grain whisky, going back to them over the years to demonstrate their potential. Experimental Grain Whisky explores the smoky, peated side of grain whisky; Stranger & Stranger, with its inclusion of grain spirit becomes a ‘spirit drink’ even though it’s 99% Scotch whisky; and The Circle No. 2 expresses flavour in terms of colour.

EXTINCT BLENDS

Just as myths and stories capture moments in history, passed down through generations, blended whiskies also encapsulate specific moments in time.

These whiskies from the Extinct Blends Quartet are time capsules of flavour. Ultramarine brings you the sherry and pipe tobacco notes of the late ‘80s whilst Delos transports you to a remote, sun-kissed island paradise. Metropolis takes you to cities, blending modern life with classical architecture and ghosts of bygone eras.

THE ARTS

We often take inspiration from the arts. From the decadence movement to bookbinders to blank canvases, that inspiration spans diverse depths.

Art & Decadence offers abundance, delight and pleasure; Vellichor looks at how whiskies, like old books, contain their own stories and art; and Canvas demonstrates Scotch’s incredible diversity of colour and vibrancy.

COMPASS BOX REVISITED

Certain ideas and concepts are too good not to come back to, and so we revisit them from time to time.

Flaming Heart and Juveniles are two examples of classically Compass Box whiskies. They counter each other perfectly. Flaming Heart is a rock song of oak and smoke, set in a stadium full of people. Juveniles, and its delicate bell, is reminiscent of a small, intimate wine shop in Paris.