Compass Box Spice Tree

From Compass Box: As in the past, The Spice Tree is made from 100% malt whisky sourced from northern Highland distilleries, (notably and primarily malt whisky distilled in the village of Brora). The primary maturation is in a mix of first-fill and refill American oak. What is different is the secondary maturation. Rather than using inner stave inserts, as we did for the original Spice Tree, we rack the whisky into barrels with heavily toasted new French oak heads. We have created a method for getting a super heavy toast on the cask heads which imparts a flavour profile similar to the flat staves used for the original Spice Tree. 1 We use oak with three different levels of toasting on the barrel heads, thus allowing us to blend the resultant whiskies to create additional layers of complexity. This secondary maturation lasts as long as two years.

Whisky Advocate 91 points - The tastiest of their Signature range, this boasts a dry oak and spice nose with fudge, rye bread, and banana interwoven with French oak influences of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground ginger. As the gentle orange, malt, pear, and apple settle down, little spicy explosions of ginger and pepper detonate, leaving an aftermath of spiced malt, coffee cake, milk chocolate, and cocoa. Such a wonderful flavor trajectory to behold.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick, July 2018