Compass Box Ultramarine (70cl, 51%)

Ultramarine is a blended Scotch whisky from Compass Box, bottled at 51% in a 70cl bottle. It belongs to the Extinct Blends Quartet and is a limited edition of 5,430 bottles, built from eleven parcels of whisky including malt from Caol Ila and Glendullan and grain from Cameronbridge and Girvan. The malts were matured in first-fill sherry-seasoned butts and refill bourbon barrels, the grains in recharred hogsheads and first-fill bourbon barrels. It is bottled non-chill filtered and at natural colour. The blend takes its cue from luxury blends of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The nose combines toffee, old polished oak and earthy peat smoke. The palate brings roasted pecan, dark raisins, grilled stone fruit and spiced fruitcake, and the long finish carries barbecue smoke, smoked almonds and bittersweet cocoa.