What does “Decadence” mean to you? We love the chain of association that leads to luxury, beauty, and excess. It’s highly fertile territory for art… and whisky.

Oscar Wilde wrote that “we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” The age in question was the late nineteenth century when the Aesthetic Movement in the art world yearned for pure visual delight.

The Aesthetic Movement gave rise to the Decadent Movement, with artists layering influences from around the world. For those of a Decadent sensibility, more was always more. The unnecessary flourish became the most important thing of all – is something delighted you, that was the only justification required for its existence.

Art & Decadence is decked out delight. We have taken glossily sweet grain whiskies and combined them with unseated malt whiskies matured in American oak barrels, sherry-seasoned butts, and malt whisky finished in not one but three varieties of dessert wine cask. Like we said, more is more.

With the Decadent Movement, art was made for the sake of art; there were no ulterior motives. Similarly. A whisky like Art & Decadence may not be strictly a necessity -and that is the whole, glorious point.

This is an exceedingly colourful and vibrant Scotch whisky, thanks to a parcel of single malt re-racked into experimental barrels for three years.

Seasoned with Vino Naranja (Spanish fortified wine infused with orange peel), these unusual casks bring new shades of deliciousness to Canvas with their chocolatey richness and sticky marmalade fragrance.

Single malts from the Tomatin, Glenburgie, Glen Elgin and Imperial distilleries, all aged in American oak, bring further generous flavours of custard, honey and frangipane. Rather than restrained watercolours, this is a work in decadent oil paints.

That’s what is in the bottle. Bottled at 46% ABV

FLAVOUR PROFILE The gloriously waxy and citrusy nose is followed by forest honey and vanilla shortbread notes on the palate. Flavours of nutmeg, cardamom and chocolate intertwine in the long-lasting finish

When our forest king emerges from the trees, take note of his crown of oak. A crown we gave him in honour of the transformative influence wood has over our realm of flavour, and the magic of metamorphosis he brings to our blending table.

His crimson touch is magisterial. Powerful. Balanced by a benevolent generosity that says ‘what’s mine is yours – enjoy.’ So, will you do him the honour?

PROCESS

Powerful, rich whiskies matured in American Oak sherry butts, precisely seasoned for a very particular wood interaction that creates a spiciness and generous intensity from the oloroso influence.

TASTING NOTES

Chocolate fudge cake undercut with clove and cardamom, with notes of plum jam and redcurrant jelly, then rich cherry, toffee and oak. With final notes of raisin, honey and brown sugar.

This, our third Compass Box homage to DELILAH’S, commemorates the 30th anniversary of the legendary Chicago punk rock whisky bar.

In the 30 years that DELILAH’S has been open, it has curated thousands of events and hosted millions of folks. It’s that gathering of the parties and the people that make this bar special. It’s what makes DELILAH’S what it has evolved into – the past, the present, and whatever the future holds, the curiosities that make up DELILAH’S have been and always will stay true.

For this expression, John, Mike and James Saxon have created a blend of Scotch Whiskies that include casks covering three decades of distilling and aging. The mysterious whisky in your glass is made from Whiskies Known and Whiskies Unknown. Like the bar it celebrates, it’s the amalgam of the elements that make it so fun and tasty.

John and Mike continue to share a passion for whiskies that can be enjoyed by all and this exemplifies that ideally. When you’re in Chicago, stop by DELILAH’S for some good times and great whiskies.

A fascinating discovery, borne from the pursuit of unusual flavour and a grain whisky that’s only a pot still away from being a single malt. Smoky, sweet and curiously delicious. Compass Box Experimental Grain Whisky is a limited edition blended grain Scotch whisky bottled at 46% Alc./Vol. Bottled December 2021.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Compass 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.

In 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.

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.

Celestial

Across the four releases, we have also conjured up different regions and elements of the blended Scotch whisky world. From its beginnings with Ultramarine and the wild coasts, we end with Celestial and a headlong flight through the clouds.

The Blended Scotch Whisky from which we have drawn our inspiration for Celestial was also associated with travel, albeit of the terrestrial kind, and was born in an era that depended on horsepower in its most literal sense. Celestial boasts more pettiness than the extinct blend in question, drawing on malt whiskies from Ardbeg and Carl Ila Distilleries.

The combination of smoke and succulent fruit is truly otherworldly, depicted in the coils and columns of cloud shown on the label. A gleaming brightness is provided by malt whiskies from Glen Elgin and Pulteney distilleries, a quality we have chosen to represent with the constellations.

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.

While 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.

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.

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.

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