The 2026 edition of Hedonism from Compass Box is coming next week, and actor Karen Gillan stars as this year’s Muse.
Yes, that Karen Gillan. From Doctor Who to Guardians of the Galaxy, via Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, she has gone from Highland roots to global screens without losing the accent or the edge.
Now she becomes the first known face to embody the Hedonism woman on the bottle.
The new Compass Box Muse: Karen Gillan
Karen Gillan becomes the face of Hedonism 2026
When Hedonism launched in 2000, it shook things up. It was widely regarded as the first Scotch whisky to prominently feature a woman on its label, and it was also the first serious blended grain whisky to demand attention.
The original core expression was discontinued and reborn in 2023 as an annual limited release, titled Hedonism The Muse. Each year, a different female artist reinterprets the Hedonism woman. In 2025, Argentinian illustrator Sofia Bonati brought her vision to the label. For 2026, the brush passes to Australian artist Emma Hack.
Hack is best known for her striking body art and photography, including her work on Somebody That I Used to Know, the Gotye video that took over the internet and racked up billions of views. Her style merges human form, texture, and pattern into something layered and immersive. For 2026, she places Gillan at the centre of a richly detailed collage.
Gillan, for her part, calls the collaboration deeply personal. Sharing whisky and stories, she says, are some of the best times of her life. Seeing herself on a bottle, less so an everyday occurrence.
Compass Box whiskymaker Angela D’Orazio and Karen Gillan
What is in the bottle
Creative director of whisky making Angela D’Orazio built the 2026 edition from some of the oldest components ever used in Hedonism.
At its heart sits a 30-year-old parcel from Strathclyde Distillery. That is joined by 20 to 24-year-old whiskies from the now-silent Port Dundas Distillery and the ever-reliable Cameronbridge Distillery. Historic blended grain parcels add depth, while a new old sherry cask component makes its debut in Hedonism for the first time.
Bottled at 46% ABV, it promises clove-spiced fruitcake, sticky dates and toffee on the nose, with coffee and cocoa-laced cream rolling across the palate. D’Orazio describes it as unmistakably Hedonism, but richer, darker and more intense than previous editions. The sherry element adds a new perspective without drowning the signature vanilla-and-cream core.
Exclusive to Master of Malt
Excitingly, pre-orders open exclusively at Master of Malt on 24 February. Make sure you come back here next week for even more announcements. You don’t want to miss them…