Product: Compass Box “Asyla”: Because I Want Heaven Now! Producer: Compass Box Approximate Retail Value: $32/bottle Category: Scotch Whisky Country of Origin: Scotland Reviewer: R. Pietsch The F Words: Flavor – Intensely aromatic. Smooth with hints of honey and vanilla. Feel – Light and well balanced. Finish – Quick on the palate, but lingers on the sides of the tongue and lips.

Rating:

Compass Box appeals to the most seasoned of scotch veterans, and it is a great alternative to the stratosphere of single malts for those of you (and me) on a tight budget. Compass Box is the kind of scotch you could drink every day, and even serve to your most special guests.

Compass Box works specifically in the art of blending. They take already finished (or at least nearly finished) single barrel scotches with complimentary flavors and mix them to perfection. They have a variety of bottles with unique titles such as “Peat Monster” whose name, I assume, says it all. For this round I picked up “Asyla” which is fortunately (for my editor) the least expensive of their line.

Compass Box is a genuinely interesting product. It is a blend of five different scotches -- three light malt and “fruity” malts mixed with two grain-based whiskies. Each of the component scotches is aged 10-12 years prior to blending.

The fact that Compass Box uses younger scotches is noticeable only in its lack of body. What this fine blended scotch lacks in weight, though, is compensated by character and depth. Compass Box rests its concoctions on American Oak (and in this case Bourbon barrels). The purpose? American Oak mellows the most distinct characteristics of each individual scotch, resulting in balance.

That’s the whole idea.

Take the best characteristics of each scotch, mix them in the most complimentary fashion and fuse the flavors to form a cohesive drink. It’s the same principle used in proprietary blends of wine.

For such a light scotch Compass Box has an intense finish. Just like a great wine, you want to make sure a sip of Compass Box touches every part of your mouth. The warmth stays with you, mostly at the sides of your tongue. It’s not chill filtered; what few impurities do exist are relatively obvious. In this case it’s sugar. Fortunately, it is not a syrupy sweetness that sticks with you. Instead the sugar remains light and leaves a hit of vanilla. As the finish comes to a close, exhaling through your nose allows you savor just how peaty it is.

I did some experimenting with water and ice and found that, as snotty as it sounds, using tap water or ice made with tap water just destroyed this product. If you feel you need rocks or a drop of water, I recommend using only high quality bottled water (maybe even throw some in the ice cube trays). I didn’t believe the guy at the liquor store, but realized quite quickly that he was trying to save me a wasted glass of premium scotch.

I tried to stretch the bottle as long as I could, but it’s pretty irresistible. I won’t say that it’s the best scotch I’ve ever had, though it is better than I thought any $32 bottle of scotch could be. When the most ubiquitous brands run at least $45-$50 a bottle, there is no reason to sit on your wallet in this case. CompassBox“Asyla”

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