Compass Box

Today it buys aged whisky and new spirit from over 40 Scottish distilleries, ageing many in Scotland in casks it selects, some custom-built with cooperages.^1,2,3 Like Hedonism in 2000, its whiskies today have no added colour and are not chill-filtered, a step that removes natural oils so whisky stays clear when cold.^2,10,11

The Spice Tree, launched in 2005, was aged partly with flat French oak inserts, called inner staves; the association objected, and production stopped.^4,5,13 In September 2009 The Spice Tree came back without the staves, aged instead in casks with heavily toasted new French oak heads.^4,5 In 2015, after a complaint from another brand owner, the association said EU law allowed only the youngest whisky's age to be shown, and Compass Box removed the ages.^4,6,16 In 2016 it launched a campaign to change the law, so makers would be free, but not obliged, to share the age and proportion of every whisky in a blend.^6,17 In September 2016, after fresh legal advice, it began sharing those ages with drinkers who asked, though it still could not promote them.¹⁸

Sources

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