Country: Scotland - Highland
Distillery:
Clynelish, Dailuaine, Teaninich
Type: Blended Malt
Age: 10-12
Cask: ASB & Hybrid Casks
ABV: 46%
Proof: 92
Price: $60
Nose: A fruity start is what you should expect. Stone fruits and Sultana grapes are followed by toasted oak, white flowers and yeast notes.
Palate: This is joyful. A malty base with nutty notes on it. Prunes, touch of Demerara, ginger, rye bread, nutmeg, vanilla, touch of smoke and coffee beans.
Finish: Finish is where spices overload. Allspice with cinnamon, a touch of cloves with toasted oak and quince.
When it first started all, The Spice Tree was the illegitimate wealth of Compass Box. John Glaser's vision was to create a non traditional blended malt whisky using French Sessile oak stave placements in the barrels. Unfortunately, SWA didn't support this idea and the methods had to change.
We all love the transparency idea of Compass Box. On their website they give the recipe detail of each whisky. Instead of me writing it down and you trying to figure my Turkish accent, I am placing the infographic below.
A phenomenal cask structure like this having three spectacular malt whisky should bring out something close to perfect.
The second stage has hybrid casks that are developed by the coopers in France and Scotland. The result was heavily toasted French barrel heads on each barrel.
I love the way the blend is balanced. Palate is incredibly rich and round. Spicy feeling is distinct at the finish line where it shows what it has.
I can only complain about the nose a little since it is somewhat reserved for the first 6-7 minutes. Then it opens up and matches the palate's rich character.
The Spice Tree has won the Best Blended Malt Whisky Award both in 2015 San Francisco Spirits Competition and in the last weeks at World Whiskies Awards 2020.
