54,4°
Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay
Bourbon Hogshead
Independent Bottling
By William Cadenhead Limited
Limited Edition
Single Cask
Bottled in 2018
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Peated around 35 ppm
It's a privilege to taste this 36-year-old Caol Ila, and what's more, it's a gift from a friend, which is priceless. The maturation was simply done in Bourbon Hogshead, resulting in just 120 bottles. At this age, the peat is very discreet and barely noticeable.
Let's Taste It :
Right away, tropical fruit and citrus, with a hint of peat in the form of grit, wood shavings and small gravel. Rainy iodine in the background, contrasting with tasty fruits, roasted pineapple, white melon, banana, lychee, and beeswax, floor wax, walnut oil, robust and elegant woodiness, like those untreated beams in a hay-filled barn. Syrupy honey, molasses, crushed dates. On the palate it's wiser, olive oil, lemon zest, a dash of vanilla, biscuit dough rolled in flour with a shadow of icing sugar, delicate peat and barely perceptible spices in the background. Very long finish, like a goods train in a country station, powerful, crushed hazelnuts, smoked salmon, sesame seeds, herbal notes, reeds, white grapes with their seeds, a few more drops of wax.
In Short,
An incredible Caol Ila, but not really recognisable, I would have rather said Springbank, or Bowmore, which is a compliment, because these are among my favourite distilleries. The nose and finish are sublime, the palate is just excellent, and it all adds up to one of the best Caol Ila's I've ever had. If not the best. The price was quite right when it first came out, but it sold out very quickly, and today you can still find it, but only if you multiply by two or three, it becomes more prohibitive.
Score : 91
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Lunatic Soul - The World Under Unsun
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