compass box 'ultramarine' blended scotch whisky

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, was reserved for art with holy subject matter. 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 cloth, 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. 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 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.