Near the end of October, I flew back to New York City for the annual Big Apple edition of WhiskyFest, put together by Malt Advocate magazine. This event is always a great one for surveying the world of American, Irish and Scottish whiskies, so it should come as no surprise that this TOTM hails from the distilling rather than the brewing world.
The curiously-named Compass Box is a company specializing in the proprietary blending of Scottish whiskies. In this regard, Compass Box principal John Glaser veers away from the independent whisky bottler norm, typified by companies like Gordon & MacPhail and Signatory, in which agents bottle single malts from individual distiller selected from their own cask reserves. Says Glaser on his website:
"I take my inspiration from Scotland's original whisky blenders. These were 19th century craftsmen who created whiskies customized to the tastes of their clientele by blending different styles of whiskies from different distilleries. They were able to make products that were completely original and completely their own."
One such original whisky is Glaser's malt and grain whisky blend, Asyla, which he identified to me as his personal 'go to' whisky on a day-to-day basis. Of course, Asyla is anything but ordinary. A complex blend of flavours, more like it, with a rich taste that won't overwhelm the timid whisky drinker and enough fruity-malty-softly smoky balance that it will likewise satisfy the regular malt drinker in a whisky and soda or even on its own. You could mix it, too, but it seems to me that would be a shame.
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