I’m particularly impressed with the interplay of sherry notes (which are fleeting) with peat notes (which are understated but dominant), without the two ever conflicting. I’ve had $80 peated malts finished in sherry casks that didn’t integrate half as well.
The clean, crisp notes of peach and white grapes carry through from nose to finish, never allowing the peat to dominate. Masterfully blended – a truly excellent example of skilled blending and what it can accomplish.
There’s something I like about a little miniature bottle of a cheap blended scotch. It has so much promise. Might this be the next old-school gem from the days when blended scotch was what everyone drank? And then I open it and I find more or less the same thing. Too much grain. too little flavor. Sigh.
I read this sort of thing frequently in blogs and from the mouths of whisky evangelists: “Blended whisky can be cheap, just like any stereotype can be true from time to time, but you can’t go around generalizing like that.” I’d like to offer a counterpoint.
…He also notes “I’d rather pay a little more for better quality, wouldn’t you?” which ordinarily I’d agree with. A large percentage of the opinions I post here on this blog are related to the value of whisky – finding better quality for a reasonable price. I’d far rather pay $45 for…
This is the first “blended Canadian whisky” that I’ve had (ever) that doesn’t make me want to wash my mouth out. That said, it desperately calls for ice and a bitter or acidic ingredient to balance the inherent sweetness.
…it’s still very sweet, and has a chemical aftertaste that I’m not fond of. It’s not as wholly bad as many of the other bulk Canadian whisky products sold in the US, but it’s not a reason to warm to the market segment.
Please, please don’t buy this. If one person, somewhere, reads this review in a BevMo and puts the bottle back on the shelf, then I have done my duty as a whisky blogger, and I can die contented.
Compass Box is doing something very cool. After the incredible success (due in no small part to its very high quality) of Great King Street: Artist’s Blend, the company is expanding its blended scotch selection under the Great King Street label.
This is a clean, crisp, and borderline bland example of what skillful hands can do with young or inexpensive whisky blending components. However, I can’t think of any reason to buy Asyla when Great King Street: Artist’s Blend is on the shelf.