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Next Auction starts Friday 29 March. Bottle Deadline: 18 March.

Compass Box The Spice Tree Inaugural Batch

Lot: 5085184

Compass Box The Spice Tree Inaugural Batch

Winning Bid: £230

Currency Estimate

Important: Currency exchange rates are constantly changing; this feature is to be used as a guide price only. All final transactions occur in British Pounds (£).
Lot:
Distillery: 
N/A
Age: 
N/A
Vintage: 
N/A
Region: 
Scotland
Bottler: 
Compass Box
Cask Type: 
N/A
Bottled Strength: 
46%
Bottle Size: 
70cl
product Details

Compass Box The Spice Tree Inaugural Batch

Despite brands like Ballantine’s, Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal remaining the best-selling Scotch whisky brands in the world, the blended Scotch category played second fiddle to the more fashionable single malt market in the second half of the 20th century. This remains largely true today, however in recent decades the perception of the blend has improved. The company at the forefront of this is Compass Box, founded in 2000 by John Glaser, a former marketing director for the Johnnie Walker brand. Their core range consists of The Spice Tree, The Peat Monster, Story of the Spaniard, Oak Cross and Hedonism blends, and they regularly produce limited editions as well. The company prides itself on its boundary-pushing approach to its creations, and on occasion, boundary-crossing creations, such as the original Spice Tree in 2005 which was banned by the Scotch Whisky Association for its use of suspended staves in casks. Despite investment from Bacardi in 2015, the company continues to push the envelope and rebel against tradition, most notably in its Scotch Whisky Transparency campaign, launched in 2016 following another disagreement with the SWA, this time about their detailed revealing of the recipes of their whiskies.

Released in 2005, this is the inaugural Spice Tree batch which used 'fresh new oak staves' placed within the casks to add additional character. The process was restricted by the Scotch Whisky Association as a breach of the traditional methods used to create Scotch whisky, resulting in The Spice Tree being removed from sale and Compass Box has since changed the production method. Today is remains part of their core range.

This rare Compass Box was popular not only because of the controversy but also the quality of whisky. A limited edition, this was one of just 4150 bottles.

Important Notice

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Please note: Due to the various ages of bottles and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion and no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.