Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky is a limited-edition blended malt Scotch in which every component is exactly ten years old. The recipe is printed in full: 66.5% Clynelish, 20.2% peated Ardnamurchan and 13.3% unpeated Ardnamurchan, all from first-fill bourbon casks. It is bottled at 50.5% ABV, natural colour and non-chill filtered, in 3,610 individually numbered bottles. The release marks ten years of Compass Box’s Scotch Whisky Transparency campaign and goes on sale on 26 September 2026 via The Whisky Exchange at an RRP of £64 , with international shipping.
The rule in Scotch whisky is simple: the age on the label is the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle. Compass Box has spent a decade arguing that drinkers deserve to know the rest of the story. Its new release sidesteps the question entirely. Every drop in Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky is exactly ten years old, so the age statement and the full recipe finally say the same thing.
The London-based whisky maker announced the bottling on 23 September 2026. It is a blended malt built from three single malts, all ten years old and all matured in first-fill bourbon casks, with the precise proportions printed on the label down to the decimal point.
Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky: the key facts
- Type: Blended malt Scotch whisky
- Age: 10 years (every component)
- Recipe: 66.5% Clynelish 10 Year Old, 20.2% Ardnamurchan peated 10 Year Old, 13.3% Ardnamurchan unpeated 10 Year Old
- Cask type: First-fill bourbon casks (all three components)
- ABV: 50.5%
- Bottle count: 3,610 individually numbered bottles
- Natural colour / chill filtration: No added colour, non-chill filtered
- Price: £64 RRP
- Release date: 26 September 2026
- Where to buy: compassboxwhisky.com (checkout handled by The Whisky Exchange) and The Whisky Exchange directly
- Whisky makers: Samuel Travers and Michael Stephenson
- Serve: Neat, or over ice (Compass Box’s own suggestion)
Why the name is the point
Under the Scotch Whisky Regulations, a blend’s age statement can only reflect its youngest component. A bottle labelled 10 years old might contain 10, 15 and 20-year-old whiskies, but the producer is not permitted to advertise the older parts in the same way.
Compass Box ran straight into that in 2015. It had printed the component ages and proportions for Flaming Heart and This Is Not a Luxury Whisky, and the Scotch Whisky Association told the company those disclosures did not comply with the rules. The response was the Scotch Whisky Transparency campaign, launched in 2016, which asks for producers to have the freedom to disclose the age and share of every component, without making it an obligation for anyone else.
This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky is the ten-year marker for that campaign, and it is built so that nothing on the label needs a footnote. With every component at the same age, the full recipe and the age statement line up perfectly.
Compass Box CEO Nishat Gupte put it this way: “Every whisky in this bottle is exactly 10 years old. So, we call it what it is. This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky is not a statement about the industry; it’s a statement about us: full transparency, no compromises.”
What goes into the blend: Clynelish and two faces of Ardnamurchan
Clynelish (66.5%) is the backbone. The distillery sits at Brora on Scotland’s north-east Highland coast and is prized by blenders for its waxy texture, a mouthfeel that coats the palate, along with a gentle coastal lift. This is not bought-in mature stock: Compass Box filled Clynelish new make spirit into its own first-fill bourbon wood a decade ago and has matured it ever since. Compass Box describes its contribution as lemon, beeswax, peach and gentle salinity. At two-thirds of the recipe, that waxiness is the whisky’s structure.
Ardnamurchan peated (20.2%) brings the smoke. Ardnamurchan Distillery, owned by independent bottler Adelphi, began distilling in 2014 on the Ardnamurchan peninsula on Scotland’s west coast, the most westerly point of the British mainland. Compass Box’s notes for this component are flinty, mineral peat, toffee and what it calls the distillery’s “signature funk”. A ten-year-old from here is still a relatively new thing, which gives this release an added curiosity value.
Ardnamurchan unpeated (13.3%) adds weight and fruit without extra smoke: funky cereal, white chocolate cookies and apricot, according to Compass Box. Using both styles from the same distillery lets the blenders dial the peat precisely, rather than leaning on a single heavily peated component.
One detail stands out: the smoke is quantified. Blended malts usually describe their peat in words (“a touch of smoke”). Here you know it is exactly 20.2% of the blend.
Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky tasting notes
We have not tasted this release yet. The notes below are Compass Box’s own.
Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky: official tasting notes
Colour: Light gold Nose: Pink Lady apple, rhubarb crumble, custard, pineapple upside-down cake Palate (texture):Waxy, glossy Palate (flavour): Lemon iced butter biscuits, creamy white chocolate, vanilla panna cotta, soft apricot, nutmeg on sweet oats Finish: Buttery pastry, candied lemon, a hint of charred oak ABV: 50.5% | Cask type: First-fill bourbon | Price: £64
Reading the recipe against the notes, the first-fill bourbon casks explain the custard, vanilla and pastry, while the Clynelish accounts for the waxy, glossy texture. The Ardnamurchan peated share is modest, so expect smoke as a frame around the fruit rather than the headline. Compass Box suggests drinking it neat or over ice; at 50.5% ABV, a few drops of water are also worth trying before you reach for the ice.
Who is Compass Box?
Compass Box was founded in London in 2000 by John Glaser, a former Johnnie Walker marketer, with the aim of making blended Scotch in a more modern, flavour-first way. It does not own a distillery. Instead, it buys new make and matured whisky, selects casks and blends, which is why component disclosure matters so much to its identity.
Its core range includes Hedonism (blended grain), The Peat Monster, Orchard House and Artist’s Blend, alongside limited releases such as Flaming Heart. Since 2022 the company has been part of Bacardi, while continuing to operate from its London blending base.
Price and availability
Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky goes on sale on 26 September 2026 at an RRP of £64 for 70cl. You can buy it from the product page on compassboxwhisky.com, where checkout is handled by The Whisky Exchange, or from The Whisky Exchange directly.
The Whisky Exchange ships to a long list of countries outside the UK, including, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, the United States, Australia, Japan and Singapore. Delivery costs and duty vary by country, so check at checkout.
With 3,610 bottles and a price well under the usual level for limited Compass Box releases, we would not expect this to hang around.
Is it worth £64?
For a limited, numbered, 10-year-old blended malt at 50.5% ABV with natural colour and no chill filtration, £64 is a fair price. It is priced in line with Compass Box’s core bottlings, which is unusual for a limited release.
It’s for you if: you like Clynelish’s waxy style, enjoy a measured touch of peat, or want to try ten-year-old Ardnamurchan while it is still rare. It is also a natural bottle for anyone who has followed the transparency debate and wants to own the moment it made its point.
It’s not for you if: you want heavy smoke (look at The Peat Monster) or rich sherry-cask character. This is a bright, bourbon-cask, texture-led whisky.
If you want one, set a reminder for 26 September.
Frequently asked questions
What is Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky? It is a limited-edition blended malt Scotch whisky from Compass Box, released in September 2026 to mark ten years of its Scotch Whisky Transparency campaign. Every component is exactly ten years old, so the age statement and the full recipe on the label match. It is bottled at 50.5% ABV in 3,610 numbered bottles.
What whiskies are in Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky? The blend is 66.5% Clynelish, 20.2% peated Ardnamurchan and 13.3% unpeated Ardnamurchan. All three single malts are exactly ten years old and matured in first-fill bourbon casks. An earlier label filed in the US in April 2026 also listed a small share of Linkwood, but that component is not in the final release.
How much does Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky cost? The RRP is £64 for a 70cl bottle, and The Whisky Exchange lists it at £63.95. That works out to roughly €64 or DKK 480 before shipping and local duties. For a limited, numbered, non-chill filtered 10-year-old at 50.5% ABV, that places it in line with Compass Box’s core range.
Where can I buy Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky? It goes on sale on 26 September 2026 via compassboxwhisky.com, with checkout through The Whisky Exchange, and from The Whisky Exchange directly. The retailer ships internationally, including to Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States and Japan. Only 3,610 bottles exist, so expect it to sell quickly.
What does Compass Box This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky taste like? According to Compass Box, the nose shows Pink Lady apple, rhubarb crumble, custard and pineapple upside-down cake. The palate is waxy and glossy, with lemon butter biscuits, white chocolate, vanilla panna cotta, apricot and nutmeg. The finish brings buttery pastry, candied lemon and a hint of charred oak, with light peat throughout.
Why is Compass Box campaigning for whisky transparency? Scotch whisky rules only allow a blend’s age statement to show its youngest component. In 2015 the Scotch Whisky Association told Compass Box that its component disclosures on Flaming Heart and This Is Not a Luxury Whisky did not comply. Compass Box launched its transparency campaign in 2016, asking for the freedom, not the obligation, to disclose full recipes.
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