Compass Box Delos – The Extinct Blends Quartet – 49%

The great advantage of blended whisky? You are not limited to the character of one distillery, but can enjoy the best characteristics from different distilleries combined. Hardly anyone makes this possible at such a high level as Compass Box. John Glaser and team create textures and flavours that a single whisky often cannot achieve. For their luxury blends, the “whisky makers” combine high-quality single malt and single grain whiskies from their own cask warehouse in Scotland.

With Delos, Compass Box presents the second bottling of “The Extinct Blends Quartet” after Ultramarine. The quartet is inspired by flavours that have fallen into oblivion, which Compass Box revives on the basis of some of its most valuable whisky stocks.

The model for Delos: the Compass Box Asyla, discontinued in 2018. The lively character of the blend is now being resurrected. Old and rare whisky components contribute to this. The malt share is provided by 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 Asyla’s trademark.

Those who wonder why Asyla is not reissued: As of ancient mosaics, such as the Greek island of Delos, there are too many missing pieces to restore the blended Scotch as a permanent part of the range.

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