59°
Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay
Bourbon Hogshead
Independent Bottling
By Claxton's
Limited Edition
Single Cask
Bottled in 2022
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Peated around 35 ppm
It was through the importer High Spirits that Claxton's was able to
distribute this little thing on the continent. Claxton's is a young
English bottler still little known, it offers here a young and fiery
Caol Ila grown in a most certainly refill Bourbon barrel, the
distillate will be talked about. The number of bottles produced is not
known.
Let's Taste It :
Powerful, thick, almost solid smoke. With lots of seaweed and kelp.
Sea foam, coarse salt. It is only after a while that we find the iodized
freshness typical of the distillery. A very vague hint of white fruit.
Buried under shovelfuls of peat. Scales of fish, bottarga and other
seafood. I lick an oyster shell. But I also detect some cereals,
crushed wheat germ, hay, tall grass. At the end the smoke becomes more
ashy and subtle. In the mouth, it's quite sweet, I'm surprised, yellow
plums, green bananas, but that was without counting the spices, very
strong, gray pepper,,nutmeg, cardamom, the peat comes back with them.
The finish is obviously devastating, very long, charcoaled, chalky, we
chew ashes, and at the same time it sparkles, rye bread, with a hard
crust, black radish. A green grape.
In Short,
Yes, it's a naked Caol Ila, and I love it! Such a definitive and radical
product is becoming rare these days, and we should enjoy it while we can. You hardly feel the influence of the cask, and the power of the
distillate is crazy. It is very pleasing to find such a pure expression,
especially since the price remains very reasonable. On the other hand, it
is clearly not complex, it is direct, straight to the point, simple,
powerful, precise. This one is not in nuances, and so much the better.
Score : 88
To Be Listened While Sipping :
The Hives - Tick Tick Boom
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