Compass Box is shaking things up with their innovative approach to whisky. For decades, single malt scotch has dominated the premium whisky market. But Compass Box is challenging the status quo with their beautifully presented and meticulously crafted blended whiskies. Founded in 2000, they’ve built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of both taste and label designs.
Intrigued by their approach, we spoke to James Saxon, Compass Box’s new Whiskymaking Director, to delve deeper into their philosophy and what makes them stand out in the crowded world of whisky.
Who Are Compass Box?
I’d describe Compass Box as a “centaur” of the whisky world; an elegant and enigmatic combination of two aspects. They are an independent bottler, but unlike most independent bottlers in the scotch whisky world they don’t bottle single malts. Instead they produce and bottle their own bespoke blends. For each release they create iconic and memorable labels that enhance a drinker’s experience and entice new customers, all while pushing boundaries of what blended whisky can be.
I can’t think of another company in the industry doing something with parallels. I’m not sure if this is more surprising considering their success or the fact they’ve been doing it since 2000.
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Finding A Niche In The Scotch Market
The most popular scotch whiskies in the world are blends. For most of the history of whisky blends have been the popular whisky of choice with the majority of drinkers because master blenders combine flavorsome malt whiskies with sweeter grain whisky to create something that is usually easier to drink compared to a single malt scotch.
While blended whisky has always been the choice for the majority of drinkers, it has lagged behind single malt with its premium and creative image. Which is where Compass Box stepped in.
“When Compass Box was founded, the intention was to stand out, in terms of whisky styles but also aesthetics,” explained James Saxon, the new Whiskymaking Director at Compass box in an email exchange with me. “The influence of the wine world and their progressive approach to labels informed our own need to not look like any other Scotch whisky brand. You can certainly see our influence in terms of beautifying labels taking hold across the industry since 2000.”
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What Do Compass Box Do?
Since 2000 the team at Compass box have created a series of blended whiskies that push the boundaries of blended scotch. They started with the whisky itself, not only naming the component whiskies but telling consumers exactly what proportions they used.
Yes, creating high quality whisky is important, but if you’ve read much of my work you’ll also know how crucial I believe a brand is to success. This is where Compass Box have shined. From their very first release with Hedonism they have pushed the boundary of what a whisky bottle should look like. Brightening bar shelves and showing that blends could reach into the realm of premium branding without splashing distillery names across bottles.
When John Glaser stepped down earlier in 2024 I wondered at what direction the company might take without him. So I took the opportunity to ask his successor, James Saxon:
“Having briefed a variety of design agencies alongside John for the last 5 years, I have come to understand how important it is to grab people with what is put on the bottle, while offering clues and references in design that flesh out the personality of specific releases. That is central to what we offer at Compass Box: a considered, creative piece, where liquid and label are in conversation and build on one another. Each label is different, and there is huge variety in Compass Box labels, but we certainly aren’t likely to be pursuing a minimalist approach from now on. It’s all about amping up the work and ideas that go into the whisky, making statements visually.”
The recent launch of Nectarosity into the core range is a welcome confirmation of Saxon’s plans. With its vibrant label in shades of orange, adorned in chaotic yet striking selection of cakes and confectionery, it is quintessentially Compass Box in both its design and accessible pricing.
Creating Beautiful Whiskies
We can see a slowly changing attitude to design throughout the scotch whisky industry. From the beautiful bottles used at Nc’Nean to quirky designs used by the likes of That Boutiquey Whisky, creative design largely remains the avenue of single malt brands. Blended whisky largely remains the steadfast premise of nice, but ultimately boring bottles.
There are no boring bottles of Compass Box. The most infamous collectors edition from the blender has to be Whisky & Ink. It is visually stunning and also one of the few blended whiskies I know that can command a four figure price on the secondary market. I asked Jaxon what his design highlights were:
“Of all the Compass Boxes, my favorite design would have to be The Lost Blend: three different labels, all with beautiful illustrations of lost objects. There is something so restrained and charming about it. I initially didn’t ‘get it’ when I first saw it in 2014, but it has really grown on me in the years since.”
Of course, no business is without its risk. I asked Glasser about Compass Box’s riskier ventures too: “Vellichor was a whisky we weren’t certain about—how can you reassure that a whisky that smells like an untidy old library doesn’t taste like one as well? The label and the storytelling ultimately allowed the whisky to convince people to explore an expensive blend with a made-up word for a name.”
For me that whisky and answer epitomizes the essence of how Compass Box is going about things differently. It’s taking something interesting and unique, that might not have “worked” as a single malt, but making it wonderful through blending. Then guiding drinkers into that experience through visual cues.
The Secondary Market
It is not easy being an independent bottler in today’s market, even a unique one. We are seeing a number of historic independent bottlers shift partly or even completely away from independent bottling to their own distillers. At only 24 years old Compass Box cannot be compared to the likes of Gordon and Macphail or Hunter Laing, but I wondered how they felt about the shifts.
“I know access has been tighter for mature whiskies, especially over the last 5-8 years, but Compass Box has a wealth of whisky gaining deliciousness in numerous Scottish warehouses. We salute those bottlers who have started distilling, and the results are extremely encouraging from all I have tasted. I see a lot of companies who still want to showcase scotch whisky’s liquid diversity, though. Once an independent bottler, always an independent bottler.”
Finally, as a whisky broker myself I couldn’t help but ask Glasser for his opinion on the secondary cask market and its impacts on the blending industry.
“Had we been reliant on going to the brokerage market each time we released a new whisky, it would have been inhibiting. Fortunately, we have plenty of characterful aged stock to choose from. Certainly, we saw prices for some items that must have factored in attracting private individuals, but some of this is starting to improve.
Nothing in any business is stable forever, and even whisky often thought inert once it is sealed in glass does continue to evolve. “I love creating an initial blend, then seeing how it metamorphoses. The core idea can remain while the whiskies around it radically shift. Then, once bottled, that whisky changes over its life.” From blend to bottle everything evolves, even if it’s slowly. But hopefully forward thinking brands like Compass Box will continue to pave alternative versions of the path for new drinkers to discover.
This article is adapted from one originally written by me for Forbes.com
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