Detail Compass Box Ultramarine

Compass Box Ultramarine. The vision for Ultramarine, as presented to our design agency, Stranger & Stranger. Was the bluest label possible. Their extensive research revealed some fascinating routes to explore. One referenced the use of ultramarine as a sacred colour in art. Ultramarine was an incredibly expensive pigment to achieve, requiring the lapis lazuli stone. Only found in certain areas of what is now Afghanistan, lapis lazuli was a luxury of the ancient world and, in the case of paint pigment.  And. Was reserved for art with holy subject matter.

More so, The rarefied nature of ultramarine survives to this day and continues to convey a luxurious character to anything associated with it. Our label features Salacia, the Roman goddess of the deep ocean. She is the anchor for a giant ultramarine clot. Like you’d see in paintings of the Madonna. The label seeks to draw link between the sea and Renaissance conceptions of preciousness and luxury.

However. 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. However. While still a fascinating product today, a compelling antique quality can be found in the earliest bottlings. Meaning ‘beyond the sea’, Ultramarine builds upon peated malts, Sherry maturation, and boldly creamy grain whisky. Like the three releases that will follow, we have used our imaginations and extremely tasty parcels of whisky to offer modern interpretations on great blended Scotch of the past.

History Compass Box Ultramarine

Moreover. Bottles of Scotch whisky are time capsules. Even more than single malts, blends can reflect the production methods and philosophies that prevailed in Scotland during specific eras. Scotch is constantly evolving, and blends aggregate these trends and adaptations. Compass Box Ultramarine

Furthermore. Fashions change, and formulae follow suit. Blended whiskies 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 reimagines four of their favourite blended Scotches from yesteryear, using some of their rarest and most idiosyncratic stocks of whisky.

Secondly. Ultramarine takes as its inspiration the antique Sherry and pipe tobacco notes of a deluxe blended Scotch, first released in the late 1980s.

Lastly. Powerfully flavoursome and impressively textural, the first release in the Extinct Blends Quartet relies on mature malts from the Caol Ila and Glendullan distilleries; aged grains from the Cameronbridge and Girvan distilleries, as well as a medley of pre-blended stocks.