Fashions change, and formulae suit. Blended whiskies of the 1970s, ’80s, and ‘90s are very different from today’s versions, even when the brand name remains the same. The Extinct Blends Quartet as it unfolds will reimagine four of our favorite blended Scotches from yesteryear, using some of our rarest and most idiosyncratic stocks of whisky.
Celestial
Across the four releases, we have also conjured up different regions and elements of the blended Scotch whisky world. From its beginnings with Ultramarine and the wild coasts, we end with Celestial and a headlong flight through the clouds.
The Blended Scotch Whisky from which we have drawn our inspiration for Celestial was also associated with travel, albeit of the terrestrial kind, and was born in an era that depended on horsepower in its most literal sense. Celestial boasts more pettiness than the extinct blend in question, drawing on malt whiskies from Ardbeg and Carl Ila Distilleries.
The combination of smoke and succulent fruit is truly otherworldly, depicted in the coils and columns of cloud shown on the label. A gleaming brightness is provided by malt whiskies from Glen Elgin and Pulteney distilleries, a quality we have chosen to represent with the constellations.
Peaty, with clove-like spice, honeyed fruit, and a depth of creamy oakiness from aged grain whiskies, Celestial is our most expansive whisky in the Extinct Blends Quartet. It reveals the lofty altitudes one can reach with the best fusions of malt and grain Scotch whiskies.
