44,5°
Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay
Refill Hogshead
Independent Bottling
By Decadent Drinks
Limited Edition
Single Cask
Bottled in 2026
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Peated around 35 ppm
The truly legendary Caol Ilas are those from the early 1980s, but I’m certainly not going to turn this one down either, distilled in 1990 and matured for 35 long years in a refill hogshead, before being bottled in a run of 226 bottles. With this new range, named Whiskyland and launched in 2024, Angus MacRaild and Iain MacClune, founders of Decadent Drinks, are truly working wonders.
Let's Taste It :
The peat is quite powerful given the age of the whisky – the first surprise. It’s medicinal, fuel oil and kerosene, beautifully balanced by coastal, cliff-like and quartz notes, along with airy iodine, there’s still a tremendous amount of character – the second surprise. Shades of citrus, a very light trace of vanilla, gravel, the cask seems to have left very little of its mark – the third surprise. On the palate, it’s the opposite, thick honey, pulpy fruit, with a touch of exoticism, banana, pineapple, white peaches, mirabelle plums and very ripe yellow plums, the peat is barely detectable, the spices very subtle, it’s incredible. A massive, endless finish, candied lemon, sea spray, Breton biscuits, olive oil, crème brûlée, a drop of tar, mille-feuilles.
In Short,
It’s absolutely insane, one of the best Caol Ilas I’ve ever tasted, and certainly the one that best represents the distillery. It has it all, the distillery’s pure character with its coastal notes, a peat that’s fiercely intense and uncompromising, but also beautifully integrated fruit and magnificent nuances. Truly a piece of history, probably better than the few Caol Ilas from the 1980s that I’ve tasted. As for the price, it’s commensurate with the exceptional character of the whisky, boundless.
Score : 91
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Eivør - Healer
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