Compass Box Asyla

Nose: Brisk and fruity with a waxy edge balanced by icing sugar. Citrus, cereal grains, pears, peaches, melon and apple. There is the faintest note of smoke with a breezy maritime character [This is more noticeable on the dry glass aroma, which is waxy-honeyed and lightly smoky]. Palate: The arrival is all malt and gristy cereal with orange citrus zest notes. As it develops some grassy and orchard fruit flavours come to the front together with barley sugar. There is also a slight tannic waxiness that adds a firm edge to the palate, but it is balanced by yeasty sweetness. Finish: Short. Malty cereal flavours that fall away quickly. A very, very slight smoke on the aftertaste. The best description I can think of for this whisky is "sweetly delicious cereal". Fruit and untoasted grain is the main presence – citrus, pears, peaches, rice flakes. It veers towards being too sweet but is held back by a the light tannic quality. There is an unmistakable presence of Teaninich malt in this blend and the grain whisky component is very fine, as is the oak influence. It has a lot of subtle things going on behind the simple facade that are easy to miss. It certainly stands up to neat tasting. "Above Average" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

From Compass Box sample box containing five different 50mL vials from their “core range.” I was able to get this on sale for $30. Asyla is the cheapest of the samples, at ~$45 per 750mL bottle. This is a blended Scotch that is 50% grain and 50% malt from Glen Elgin, Teannich, and Linkwood NOSE: Crisp and refreshing. Lime, lemon, lemongrass, bittersweet… tequila? Getting back on track with deeper sniffs, a wee bit of saltiness, roses, and earl gray tea from linkwood. The fruitiness is all apples, which blends in with the grassiness from Teannich. PALATE: Pleasantly waxy mouthfeel. Vanilla dominates in two respects: it’s the vanilla flavor, and it’s vanilla, i.e. boring. There is some corn sweetness, but it’s not as bad as the popular blends. I can taste the worst ingredient better than most, and it distracts me. The worst ingredient in Asyla is better than that in JW Red/Black/Green, for sure. Still, it’s thin, it’s grassiness mixed with vanilla mixed with maltiness. These are just boring flavors. Linkwood – the best component of the nose, is absent on the palate. I’m thinking that I should just gulp this and move on. FINISH: Generic. It’s pleasant and lasts somewhat longer than cheaper single malts such as Glenlivet and Glenfiddich 12. There’s some maltiness, apple fruitiness, vanilla, and caramel toffees. I’m pleasantly surprised that none of the unpalatable notes from young, cheap grain are present. WITH WATER: Surprisingly, a few drops of water adds some much needed spicy intensity to this boring dram. Even though this is only 40% ABV, some water makes it more interesting. VERDICT: This is glorified white wine. John Glasser even compares this to white wine. You either drink this on a hot day with ditzy people who are only tolerable with alcohol, or you must find complementary foods. May I recommend a rich white-meated fish such as cod. This is perhaps the most boring Compass Box. MARK: 69/100.

Delicate comes to mind. There is a lot of forward sweetness, think toffee and vanilla, and a finishing spice that just hits the back of your throat...pink peppercorn-esque.

Geekfest 8. Paired with Hedonism. Asyla was light and fruity and surprisingly wonderful.