Compass Box - Ultramarine - 51%
Compass Box Whisky is an iconic Scottish craft whisky producer, founded by the visionary American John Glaser in 2000. After a career in the wine trade and valuable experience at the prestigious distiller Johnnie Walker, John Glaser decided to launch his own whisky house from his kitchen, thus revolutionizing the sector. In less than ten years, Compass Box has built a unique heritage with stocks of refined whiskies matured in the heart of Scotland, a blending room dedicated to exceptional blends, and a strategic office located in London. The authenticity of Compass Box is also reflected in a rigorous selection of wood used for the casks, coming from the Vosges forests in France as well as iconic woods from Missouri in the United States. Each cask is carefully chosen to compose harmonious and balanced blends. Once the initial blend is made, the whisky is returned to cask for an additional maturation period of six months to three years, thus enriching the aromas and unique characters of each edition.
In 2015, Compass Box sparked a real debate in the whisky world by unveiling unprecedented transparency on its labels, revealing in detail the source distilleries, types of casks used, precise ages, and exact proportions of the final blends. This bold choice, initiated by John Glaser, led to a true campaign of transparency in Scotch whisky, encouraging all producers to offer more clarity and information to enthusiasts and connoisseurs, revolutionizing the way whisky is perceived.
Ultramarine is an integral part of the prestigious collection The Extinct Blends Quartet, a series that reinvents four historic blends now extinct, distinct from modern blends. Ultramarine draws inspiration from the rich old notes characteristic of Sherry and pipe tobacco, evoking a luxury blend first revealed in the late 1980s. This unique expression is a complex blend of: 18.7% Bourbon casks from the famous Caol Ila distillery, 17.2% first-fill Bourbon casks from the Girvan distillery, 15.6% Sherry casks from the renowned Glendullan distillery, 10.8% a grain blend aged in Bourbon casks, 9% a malt blend matured in Sherry casks, 7.9% a Highland blend aged in toasted French oak casks, 6% a grain whisky from the Cameronbridge distillery aged in a toasted cask, 4.8% hogshead casks from the Speyburn distillery, 4.2% a Sherry cask from the Glen Ord distillery, 3.9% a mature blend in Sherry casks, and 1.9% a toasted hogshead cask from the Miltonduff distillery.
Smoky and deep notes that captivate lovers of complex and elegant whiskies.
