Compass Box - Delos

The great advantage of blended whisky? You're not limited to the character of one distillery, but can enjoy the best qualities from different distilleries combined. Hardly any other distillery offers this at such a high level as Compass Box. John Glaser and his team create textures and flavors that a single whisky often can't achieve. For their luxury blends, the whiskymakers combine high-quality single malt and single grain whiskies from their own cask warehouse in Scotland.

With Delos, Compass Box presents the second bottling in "The Extinct Blends Quartet," following Ultramarine. The quartet is inspired by forgotten flavors that Compass Box revives using some of its most treasured whisky holdings.

The model for Delos: Compass Box Asyla, discontinued in 2018. The vibrant character of the blend is now being revived, with old and rare whisky components contributing to this. The malt portion comes from the Glen Elgin, Imperial, and Miltonduff distilleries, with notes of exotic fruits and vanilla from American oak. Lush and fragrant grain whisky from Cameronbridge preserves the delicate mouthfeel, once a hallmark of Asyla. For those wondering why Asyla hasn't been reissued: Like ancient mosaics, such as those from the Greek island of Delos, too many pieces are missing to restore the blended Scotch as a permanent fixture in the range.

Composition:
Imperial Single Malt (33.4%)
Glen Elgin Single Malt (28.5%)
Miltonduff Single Malt (21.2%)
Cameronbridge Single Grain (16.9%)

Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet juiciness settles across the nose in gentle waves of ripe pear, pineapple, orange oil and vanilla cream.
Palate: A blend of fruit tarts and white chocolate flatters the palate, while the maturity of the individual whiskies gradually reveals guava, heather, honey, and chai spices.