A 30-Year-Old Grain Whisky Anchors Compass Box's Coveted New Hedonism Scotch
Compass Box is one of the world’s most innovative Scotch whisky brands and just launched the third annual limited-edition release of its coveted Hedonism expression.
The 2026 edition is a blend of so-called grain whiskies. Traditionally, Scottish grain whiskies were not bottled on their own but combined with single malts to make blends like Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, and Dewar’s.
To craft this year’s expression, Compass Box’s creative director of whiskymaking, Angela D’Orazio, combined 30-year-old whisky from Strathclyde Distillery with whiskies ranging from 20 to 24 years in age from Cameronbridge Distillery and the shuttered Port Dundas Distillery. The blend also contains a portion of the 2024 and 2025 Hedonism releases, as well as a few historic blended grain parcels. While the majority of the blend consists of whisky aged in American oak barrels, a third of the whiskies were aged in casks that were first seasoned with sherry.
Courtesy Compass Box
“The 2026 release is unmistakably Hedonism, but this year’s expression is richer, darker and more intense than previous editions,” D’Orazio said in a statement. “It is also the first time we have used an old sherry component in Hedonism, which brings a new flavor perspective to our original and most iconic whisky.”
Like all previous Hedonism releases, the latest edition features a new Hedonism Muse as the focal point of its label. This year, Compass Box recruited acclaimed Australian artist Emma Hack, who is best known for her work on Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” music video from 2011. She created a live action portrait of Scottish actor Karen Gillan dressed up as the Hedonism Muse for the bottle’s label.
Courtesy Compaass Box
“Working with Emma and Karen to bring the label to life was a fantastic experience – seeing the different forms of artistry blending together and our whiskymaking process mirroring art,” D’Orazio says. “Karen as our Muse truly is the Hedonism woman brought to life.”
The History of Compass Box and Hedonism
Compass Box isn’t your average Scotch brand. It’s based in London, was founded by American John Glaser, and since its founding, it hasn’t distilled a single drop of whisky. Rather, it sources whiskies from various Scotch distilleries, blends them in London, and matures them back in Scotland before bottling.
When Compass Box was founded in 2000, the brand set out to challenge traditions in the Scotch industry as well as the notion that single malt whiskies represent the pinnacle of Scotch production. As such, its inaugural release, Hedonism, became the world’s first Scottish blended grain whisky.
Courtesy Compass Box
Unlike single malt Scotch, which must be produced from malted barley, grain whiskies are made from a small amount of malted barley and can include any malted or unmalted cereal grains in their mash bills. Scottish single malt is also required to be made on a copper pot still, while grain whisky is generally made on an efficient column still.
Since it was introduced more than two decades ago, Hedonism was a core part of Compass Box’s regular lineup, but because of dwindling stocks of rare grain whiskies three years ago the brand was forced to turn it into a limited annual release.
Compass Box Hedonism 2026 Tasting Notes
According to the brand, Hedonism 2026 opens with a warm bouquet of toffee, dates, fruitcake, and cloves, providing a delicate balance of sweet and spicy aromas. On the palate, there are dark notes of coffee, roasted almonds, and cocoa-infused cream along with flavors of cherry, cumin, and raisins.
Compass Box Hedonism 2026 Price & Availability
Hedonism 2026 is non-chill filtered, bottled at 46 percent ABV, and available now nationwide for a suggested retail price of $165 per 700 ml bottle. Only 13,218 bottles were produced, so grab one before they’re all gone.