Compass Box limited releases like The General fetch noteworthy prices at auction, while others like the first edition of Spice Tree show little traction.
John Glaser launched Compass Box Whisky Company in 2000, bringing a breath of fresh air to the somewhat hidebound image of scotch whisky that was prevalent at the time. With whisky fans convinced that single malts were far superior to blends, Glaser brought new thinking, radically enlivened the appearance of whisky labels, and ushered in a new culture of transparency about the source and age of whiskies in a blend. The legacy of limited-edition Compass Box expressions makes this a highly collectible brand, but those investing for profit are advised to pick and choose wisely and study carefully.
Compass Box came to wider prominence for many whisky lovers following a David and Goliath-style clash with the Scotch Whisky Association in 2005 over the release of Spice Tree, after objections were raised regarding the legality of using French oak inner stave inserts to age a portion of whisky. In order to comply with the regulations, Glaser’s workaround was to switch to French oak cask heads for subsequent batches, leaving eager whisky fans curious to track down the outlawed original bottles. He added a circular logo to the label and box to distinguish the compliant bottles with the French oak cask heads as the “limited edition inaugural batch.” Unbeknownst to many collectors, the rare original labels and boxes without the logo contain the taboo version of Spice Tree, and these can often be acquired for less than bottles marked “inaugural batch”: Scotch Whisky Auctions sold a bottle hand-signed by Glaser for just $150 in May 2023.
Glaser, who has since stepped down from his leadership role, released the Last Vatted Malt and Last Vatted Grain on November 22, 2011, marking the final opportunity to use the word “vatted” before the term was prohibited under the 2009 Scotch Whisky Regulations. Venerated by collectors ever since, the grain whisky in particular has excelled at auction: Whisky Auctioneer sold a bottle of The Last Vatted Grain for $2,163 in April 2023.
Compass Box loves to celebrate an anniversary, and it’s well-known for creating reserve bottlings, expressions that pay homage to original releases, and limited batches of cherished new expressions to mark when 10, 15, or 20 years have elapsed since the original bottling. Classic labels such as Hedonism, Peat Monster, Double Single, and Flaming Heart have all released anniversary editions: Hedonism Quindecimus, bottled to mark the 15th anniversary of the company and its first Hedonism bottling, fetched $677 at Whisky Auctioneer in October 2023.
Compass Box offerings that were more expensive on release, like Tobias & The Angel, Vellichor, Myths & Legends, and the Extinct Blends Quartet have yet to make much of an impact on the secondary market. Its archive, however, is rich with genuine rarities; Compass Box creates bespoke bottlings for retailers, bars, restaurants, and festivals, often in short runs of a few hundred bottles. In North America, it has released bottlings for Delilah’s, K&L Wine Merchants, Kensington Wine Market, and Bern’s Steakhouse, among others. Compass Box Magic Cask, a 2006 bottling for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, sold for $2,377 at Whisky Auctioneer in January 2021, while a bottle of Bern’s 41 year old blended grain sold for $1,834 in the same sale. Meanwhile, Scotch Whisky Auctions sold a bottle of Gold Standard, which marked the 70th anniversary of Binny’s in Chicago, for just $254 in January 2023.
A few Compass Box limited editions always seem to attract high bids. The General forged a strong reputation on release in 2013 and prices peaked with a bid of $2,775 at Unicorn Auctions in August 2022. Lady Luck, a 2009 release of 754 bottles, has a deep, smoky complexity, and Scotch Whisky Auctions sold one for $2,577 in February 2022. Rarer still is Numinous Cask, a trio of 10 year old single malts that were blended and finished for 5 years in hybrid casks of American white oak and toasted sessile oak from France's Vosges Forest. One of the 168 bottles achieved a hammer price of $1,973 at Scotch Whisky Auctions in October 2019.
You can follow Compass Box on its journey as it writes each new chapter, making it an ideal brand for collectors. Hopefully, most auction buyers are driven by curiosity, not financial gain, and above all, want to share and enjoy their auction winnings.
