For its first limited edition release of 2023, Compass Box reimagines its Asyla blend, which was first created in 2001, via Delos.
Retired in 2018, Asyla was the cornerstone of the core range until its retirement in 2018. Delos focuses on capturing the previous expression’s uniqueness, turning to older stocks to achieve this.
Named after a Greek island said to be the birthplace of the god Apollo, Delos signifies Asyla’s beauty and serenity as a whisky. Delos balances some of Compass Box’s rarest stocks of whiskey. Malt whiskies from Glen Elgin, Imperial and Miltonduff distilleries were all aged in American oak barrels.
“While inspired by the style and recipe structure of Asyla, Delos has richer and rounder flavors from using older stocks of whiskies which amplify the character, bringing more grandeur to it and making it more resonant,” said Compass Box Lead Whiskymaker James Saxon. “The delicate mouthfeel and transportive aromas within Delos are nevertheless familiarly delicious. For me, sipping Delos feels like a holiday.”
The label art features a female lute player from the original Asyla label, reimagined in mosaic form. However, she now plays a lyre, the instrument classically associated with Apollo, with the outline of the tiles broken away to reflect the coastlines of Delos and Greece.
Delos is the second release from the Compass Box’s Extinct Blends Quartet series, which celebrates discontinued characters and flavors, reappraising four very different expressions of blended Scotch. The remaining two from the series will be introduced in later this year and early 2024.
Only 5,520 bottles of Compass Box Delos were released worldwide for $325.
