Last Wednesday we were lucky enough to take part in a Compass Box tasting at the Mulligans Pub, practically a whisky museum here in Milan. The night was really pleasant, first of all because the tasting was held by the brand ambassador Celine Tetu, who has well dosed the dozens of technical informations that a Compass Box tasting imposes with the right dose of pleasantness and understatement. We have already spoken here about the amazing creature of John Glaser, a life working for Johnnie Walker and now a second life bringing innovations in the Scotch’s world.
Let’s just say that this event confirmed how good we had guessed on Compass Box and not one of the four blended whisky we have sipped was uninteresting. Today we review an entry level bottling, as usual a tons of information are spread, in contrast with what happens in the dark world of blended whisky. And so the specs tell us that Asyla is produced using 50% single malt and that the barrels are 100% ex bourbon first fill american oak. The recipe is simple and good-looking: Linkwood (22%), Teaninich (23%), Glen Elgin (5%) and Cameronbridge (50%).
Thanks for the invitation to Marco Callegari and Velier, who is distributor for Italy.
N: very ethereal and fresh in the glass, it promises to be dangerously easydrinking. It is about a lot of malt, yellow fruit and fresh flowers. Honey and fresh orange. Inviting whiffs of buttery biscuits and banana yogurt, giving a certain thickness to the whole profile.
P: at 40 degrees is a real juice. It is substantially consistent with what we said on the nose, and it’s ready to be drunk without a pause. Tons of malt again, very clean and elegant. In fact, to tell the truth, it seems more waxy and herbaceous (still flowers) and less fruity then on the nose. Hints of vanilla.
F: medium, it’s very much played on malty notes, even if a certain complexity returns.
Celine described this Asyla like a breakfast whisky and indeed it’s really easy and inviting, also thanks to an alchol content that maybe penalizes just a bit the mouth persistence, but helps to maintain a very enjoyable profile. It costs around 40 euros, so it’s a completely successful product. Try it: 82/100.
Recommended soundtrack: Daniele Pace – Che t’aggia fa’.
