48,6°
Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay
Hogshead and Moscatel Finish
Independent Bottling
By Berry Bros. & Rudd
Limited Edition
Single Cask
Bottled in 2025
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Peated around 35 ppm
Also part of the Crafted in Cask collection launched in 2025, which comprises around twenty bottlings, this Caol Ila, having spent approximately 15 years in a hogshead, followed by at least three years in a cask of Moscatel, a sweet wine produced on the Iberian Peninsula, has yielded only 78 bottles. Within this range, also known as Odyssey, all the products have undergone a finishing process of at least three years in a variety of casks.
Let's Taste It :
The pairing of the fruity Moscatel and Caol Ila-style peat is a success. A sooty smokiness with dried apricots, redcurrant jam, fresh figs, tannins, a few grains of salt, fragrant herbs. Marinated shellfish. On the palate, Amarena cherries, damson plums, it is as smooth as honey, but just a touch light. Soaked wood, intense spices, cloves, black pepper. A fairly long, powerful finish, with notes of ash, charcoal, burnt rubber, fermented fruit, a hint of sea spray. Black tea.
In Short,
I really liked this one, bearing in mind that it’s very different from the Caol Ila Distillers Edition, which is also finished in Moscatel. But that must be white Moscatel, whereas this one is clearly influenced by red Moscatel. It’s much richer, deeper and more intense. And it goes very well with the Caol Ila peat, full of soot, charcoal and sea spray. On the other hand, the price is off-putting, it seemed to me, but that’s no doubt because of the very small number of bottles produced.
Score : 89
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Devil Electric - Hypnotica
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