Compass Box The Spice Tree Scotch Whisky
Compass Box The Spice Tree Scotch Whisky is a 750mL blended malt Scotch whisky bottled at 46% ABV (92 proof), not chill-filtered and with natural colour. Built from Highland malts given a secondary maturation in custom hybrid casks — American oak bodies fitted with new, heavily toasted French oak heads — it is Compass Box's baking-spice signature and one of the bottlings that made its name. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 46% (92 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Style: Blended malt Scotch whisky — 100% malt whisky; no age statement (NAS)
- Current recipe (brand chart, March 2022): Highland malt blend in custom French oak at heavy (28.9%), medium (24.5%) and light (20.4%) toast; Glen Moray single malt in first-fill bourbon barrels (16.9%); Balmenach single malt in first-fill bourbon barrels (9.3%) — the Highland malt blend itself is roughly 60% Glen Moray, 25% Tomatin, 15% Balmenach in batches bottled from March 2021
- Secondary maturation: Custom hybrid casks — American oak bodies, heads of new French oak from 195-year-old Vosges trees; up to two years (brand fact sheet)
- Filtration / colour: Not chill-filtered; natural colour
- Lead whiskymaker: John Glaser (brand)
- Origin: Scotland — Compass Box, London blenders
The Whisky the Rulebook Stopped
First released in 2005, the original Spice Tree got its richness from French oak inner staves inserted into the cask — a winemaking technique the Scotch Whisky Association objected to, and Compass Box discontinued the whisky rather than fight the ruling. Working with coopers in France and Scotland, founder and lead whiskymaker John Glaser found a legal route to the same flavour: the hybrid cask, an American oak barrel whose heads are replaced with new French oak, heavily toasted. Relaunched on that basis in 2009, The Spice Tree has been a core Compass Box bottling ever since — and, true to the house's transparency ethos, the brand publishes its full recipe chart, toast levels and all. Browse the house on the Compass Box vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Per the brand's official notes: a nose of baking spices — clove, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg — with vanilla; a full, round, sweet palate where spice and vanilla wrap around a core of fruity malt; and a long finish. The recipe chart adds the parcels' voices: dark chocolate and clove from the heavy toast, vanilla and caramel from the medium, toffee and spiced apple from the light.
How to Enjoy
Compass Box recommends it as an after-dinner pour — with cheese, chocolate or spiced cakes — and at 46% un-chill-filtered it also stands up in an Old Fashioned or a Penicillin. If you like its French oak spice, compare the house's other blends in our whiskey collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hybrid cask?
Compass Box's answer to the ban on inner staves: a cask built with an American oak body and heads of new, heavily toasted French oak (from 195-year-old Vosges trees). The Spice Tree's malts take a secondary maturation in these casks at three toast levels, then are blended back together.
Which distilleries are in The Spice Tree?
Per the brand's current recipe chart: Glen Moray and Balmenach single malts in first-fill bourbon barrels, plus a Highland malt blend (roughly 60% Glen Moray, 25% Tomatin, 15% Balmenach in recent batches) rested in the custom French oak casks. Older reviews naming Clynelish describe the pre-2021 recipe.
How old is The Spice Tree?
It carries no age statement — Compass Box does not publish an age for this bottling or for its components in the current recipe chart. It is bottled at 46% ABV, not chill-filtered, with natural colour.
French oak spice over Highland malt — order Compass Box The Spice Tree online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.