Review 188: Compass Box Asyla

Review 188

12/8/13

Compass Box Asyla: 40% abv

Background: Since we went into a lot of detail about Compass Box as a company in the review of their limited edition 4^th batch Flaming Heart (Review 152; 3/31/13), it is probably more appropriate to focus on this particular whisky for the review. This came as part of a 5-sample tasting set for Compass Box. This sampling set is very nice, because it goes into a lot of detail about each whisky. Asyla is a blended scotch, bottled at 40%. It is made up of 50% Lowland single grain, 40% Highland single malt, and 10% Speyside single malt, and is aged in 100% first fill American oak cases. This information provides a lot of context towards what to expect in the whisky, and exactly what you’re paying for. That being said, it does not mention the aging time of the whisky, but we believe we can take a guess anyway. Please enjoy our Compass Box series of reviews.

Straight

Nose: On the nose, there is not a question of a doubt that this is a young whisky. Despite having a high proportion of Single Malt whisky in it, it still has the distinctiveness of a blended Scotch. The nose has a lot of initial burn to it, but some light grape-like acidity that starts to appear as the aroma opens up. Along with this is a gentle medley of fruit flavors, including pear and apple. There is a subtle sign that malt exists in this dram, but it is overtaken by the dominant floral notes that are developing. As the whisky opens up, more and more pear and even some peach-like flavors are taking precedence. It is strikingly reminiscent of Glenfiddich 12 Year. Coupled with the fruit cocktail is some soft buttery vanilla smell. Although harsh at first, with some time, the smell really loses some of its edginess. The assertiveness of the oak is also noticeable in the nose.  

Arrival:  The arrival starts off very crisp and somewhat malty, but struggles to present a large array of flavors immediately. There is a little bit of a bready, wheat flavor that develops in the arrival, followed by a slight apple fruitiness. There is also a hint of Pinot Grigio popping out at the end of the arrival into the body.

Body: The body is slightly shallow, with a bready, acidic presence. The flavor is light and refined, but not terribly complex. In the body, there is a slightly unappealing alcohol burn that comes through, along with a slight amount of hop-like bitterness. This is also the most malty part of the whisky. This whisky is very much in the style of Glen Grant or Glengoyne in that respect, with a slightly more dominant acidity.

Finish: In the finish, blasts of malt and vanilla take over the taste buds, with a subtle residual of peach and grape. There is also a slight orange-like citrus tang that lingers through the finish., as well as a little bit of pear. There is a slightly dry, unnatural feeling coating the tongue which leads to an almost cardboard-like flavor. The malt and vanilla out last all other flavors, with a bit of rough alcohol also playing in. Finally, a subtle hint of agave creeps into the finish.

Final Comments: Overall, a Scotch like this competes with the likes of Isle of Sky, Pig’s Nose, and Black Bull, being a more malt-forward offering than most low-end blends. We didn’t really put any time into what the whisky is like with water, due to the fact that it doesn’t have enough flavor and presence to warrant further investigation at 40%. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to pay a little more for a nice, clean blended Scotch, then I would say this isn’t a bad option. The spirit doesn’t taste perfect, but it makes for a solid sipper. It does seem like, however, for just a little bit more, anCnoc or Glengoyne will give better value per dollar within a similar style.

 

Why you’d buy it: You want a simple blend with good flavor.

Why you wouldn’t: For a similar price, you could get an amazing Single Malt out of anCnoc 12 Year.

Score: 7.75/10

Review 163: White Horse Blended Scotch

Review 163

5/29/13

White Horse Blended Scotch: 40% abv

Background: White Horse Scotch is a Blended Scotch, and it marks a couple firsts for us. It marks the first time we’re reviewing a Blended Scotch, the first time we’re reviewing a Scotch under $20, and the first time we’re documenting a new experiment. I will explain that in a second. White Horse is made with a blend of Lagavulin, Talisker, Caol Ila, and Linkwood. Of course, there are many more malts in this whisky, but they aren’t all mentioned. For the price, this is a nice blend and it has a moderate amount of peat influence to it, due to the Islay Scotches involved. What’s the experiment part about? If you have paid attention to our decanter in the background, it currently has some liquid in it. It is a homemade solera vat. A solera vat is a process where a certain amount of liquid is taken out and is replaced by an equal amount of liquid of a different quality. So what we do is take a majority of a certain whisky we don’t find particularly appealing, and then add higher quality whiskies incrementally. This White Horse will be the base of a new peated Scotch Solera Vat, and we will take some notes every couple of times we add new Scotches. For now, let’s see how standard White Horse is.

Straight

Nose:  The complexities in a blended whisky are actually not that hard to find. Right off the nose, you start to see some prominent notes of champagne and creamy barley coming through. There is a lemon-like tartness and some fruity notes coming through intensely. There is a noticeable maltiness, with some sweetness akin to caramel and vanilla complimenting the grain character. Now, as you would expect there is a sense of peatiness here, but it is more like a suggestion of peat, not a huge presence of peat. Along with that though, there is a far more dominant spiciness that adds intensity and heat to the nose. The spice seems like a mixture of hot spices, but doesn’t promote a single character very definitively to us. There is also a sense of tequila present in this nose, which is kind of peculiar. It isn’t even subtle in this case. I can’t fully explain what would evoke such aromas, but we enjoy it nonetheless. Overall, this is an above average nose for a blended scotch.

Arrival: The arrival starts off soft and creamy, in a pleasant, smooth way. There is no intense woody character or harsh burn present from the grain. This is truly a higher quality than I would ever expect from this offering. It has nice vanilla and malt overtones to it, with genuine sugar sweetness coming forth as well. None of the harsh peatiness we expect from these whiskies is coming through. If you really agitate the whisky in your mouth, you can start to get some pepper notes and slight bitterness coming through, but it doesn’t strike me as off-putting or coarse.

Body:  In the body, there is still a large sense of vanilla and creaminess, which seems to be the highlight of this whisky. That soft character must be coming from the grain spirit, because the single malts listed are going to be a more dominant character. There starts to be an evolution into some soft sherry notes, although it doesn’t come out in a rich, dark flavor, but more over a light, fruity hint of sherry. There is some dry fruitiness in the body that carries over to the finish. This isn’t a flavor you’ll normally see from a single malt, and I think it has something to do with the grain whisky.

           

Finish: The finish starts to bring out the contribution of peat, although the cream and vanilla notes that we noticed in the other parts of the whisky has not diminished much at all. The grainy harshness of the barley starts to become prevalent here, but is still not terribly off-putting. By the same token, it should come as no surprise that there is some spice character coming through as well. The agave we smelled in the nose makes a small appearance here, albeit it is hardly the star of the show in this whisky. There is still the sense of a dry fruit presence, which can unfortunately provide a slightly pasty residual mouth-feel.

With Water

Nose: Generally, when we see a whisky at 40%, especially a Blended Scotch, we try to be really shy with the water, so we only added a small portion. After adding said water, the intensity of the barley spirit comes out more, emphasizing darker, richer characters. In general, the biggest highlight is some more sherry and dark fruits coming through, but they are not overly prominent which respect to the other notes.

Arrival: Surprisingly, the nose here is even softer than before, with little flavor change and just a smoother mouthfeel.

Body: The body has become hugely enhanced with the barley sugar flavor. There is a big sweetness that was not so much an overtone in flavor that comes out now, and lasts for quite a while.

           

Finish: The finish takes on the sweetness character that was discussed in the body. It lasts like a sugar cookie treat with some malt sprinkled on top. What a pleasant treat, but it doesn’t do much for the complexity side of things. It sort of overshadows the peat aspect.

Final Comments:  This whisky is only the beginning of an experience, but it might be more than that to you. It is completely drinkable neat, and requires no water. It is sweet and smooth, and is not cheaply crafted. It also doesn’t taste horribly young and doesn’t reflect what you might call a high grain content blend. It also has some interesting flavors that we enjoyed when we tried it. It is by no means a groundbreaking whisky, but for the money, it doesn’t need to be. I think this might have just replaced Dewars, Black and White, Chivas Regal, and maybe even Grants.

Why you’d buy it: You want to drink cheap Scotch but still enjoy yourself.

Why you wouldn’t: You like Johnnie Walker Red because you feel cool saying you’re drinking Johnnie Walker (that’s an IQ issue)

Score: 8.25/10