Compass Box - Spice Tree Extravaganza

Imagine coming home after a long day at work, opening the door and finding the house filled with soft notes of a a pot roast simmering for hours with honey, chilli pepper, all spice, clove, cinnamon, garam masala and ginger. Some freshly baked cookies are just being pulled out of the hot oven and releasing a sweet syrupy honeyed malty note with some almonds and baking spices. Some new potatoes with some fresh citrus thyme are just being roasted in the pan with a good slice of butter to make them nice and crispy brown. Getting hungry all ready? Yeah, me too...

That are some of the first things that come to mind when nosing this whisky, a blended malt from Compass Box called Spice Tree Extravaganza. An expression bottled at 46%, bottled in August 2016 and 12.240 bottles released worldwide. It is build out of the following six different components. If you would to like any more details on this then please contact Compass Box to receive more information.

Glen Ord - unknown period in a first fill ex-Sherry Butt - 32.6%
Benrinnes - unknown period in a first fill ex-Sherry Butt - 17.2%
Allt-a-Bhainne - unknown period in a refill American Standard Barrel - 2.6%
Highland Blended Malt* - unknown period in a light / medium toast Hybrid Cask - 27.7%
Highland Blended Malt* - unknown period in a refill Hybrid Cask - 4.3%
Highland Blended Malt* - unknown period in a heavy toast Hybrid Cask - 15.6%

*composed of 60% aged Clynelish, 20% aged Dailuaine and 20% aged Teaninich, re-casked and matured for another four and a half years. 

I have sit down with this dram a couple of times due to it being soft and seems to need some time to show all of its flavours. But think I got a good nose and taste in the end to see what more I could find in it and write this note on it. On the nose I find also some cherries, eierkoeken, oranges, maple syrup, hint of soft leather, pomolo and fresh citrus notes. 

The palate gives me really a sweet fruit, honey and spice explosion at first. Some cinnamon, vanilla, stack of pancakes with loads of maple syrup, mixed fresh summer fruits (getting hungry even more now), richly filled cake notes, some nuts, fresh and dried fruits, mango, oranges, sugar lemon fruit, kiwi and carrot cake. 

A good length finish with a light cassis note and creamy milk chocolate (that one with fudge and sea salt). Scoring me an 8/10, a good full whisky for sure with loads of different type of notes! Thanks Compass Box for sharing a sample!