A second stack of Caol Ila

Caol Ila 16 yo 1998/2015 (46%, Excessive Spirits ‘Life is a circus’)
Color: white wine. Nostril: Caol Ila will be monstrous at cask power, however when decreased appears capable of relax much more than another Islays. That is all on light notes of seawater, bandages, moist rock, sheep wool and medical embrocations. Very pure, very classical and intensely simple and chic. A fairly shiny and delicate peaty aroma sat in the midst of every little thing. Mouth: the peat flavour is a bit greater and extra assertive right here, in truth possibly scratch what I simply stated about ‘calming down’ – this can be a large of a chunky dram to be sincere. Lemon juice, olive oil, extra moist rocks and seaside pebble vibes, properly mineral in truth, and with just a little weight and peppery heat within the mouth. End: good size with fairly a thick smokiness with out being too ashy, loads of lemon juice and wee hints of putty and iodine. Feedback: goes for a really fast costume change between the nostril and the palate, however the web result’s enjoyable and really satisfying. One other Caol Ila you could possibly simply quaff with out considering.
SGP: 456 – 85 factors.

Caol Ila 11 yo 2010/2022 (58.2%, Signatory Classic for The Whisky Change, refill sherry butt, cask #316662, 558 bottles)
Color: amber. Nostril: a fairly heavy, tarry smoke, with a number of hessian, dunnage, smoked paprika, coal mud and spiced teas. Feels fairly heavy and just a little brutal in some methods, but it surely’s a brute with simple charms. With water: sooty bandages, peat embers, graphite oil and anchovy paste. A little bit calmer now however nonetheless hefty stuff. Mouth: piles in immediately with oily kippers, tarred rope, iodine, lemon juice, creosoted fence wooden and camphor. A pointy saltiness that makes you consider black olive tapenade and the saltiest Dutch liquorice, with additionally a number of chilli-infused sport meats lurking in there. A beast! With water: all on tar extracts, burnt herbs, salted caramel, miso butter, camphor, pickled gherkins and a glimmer of salt-preserved fish. Sooty, candy and natural! End: lengthy, tarry, salty, peppery and with extra umami, bouillon and squid ink. Feedback: wonderful, however you must get pleasure from being slapped a few bit… so very doubtless a ‘temper’ whisky.
SGP: 566 – 87 factors.

Caol Ila 13 yo 2008/2021 (52.7%, The Single Cask, cask #303649A, refill oloroso quarter cask end, 60 bottles)
Color: gold. Nostril: on the lighter facet after that Signatory beast, however nonetheless fairly targeted on carpeting, earthy smokiness, salted almonds, bacon crisps, seaweed and camphor. The sherry is fairly salty and gamey, displaying integration in a manner which does not counsel a ending, which I like. With water: tar, pickling juices, hessian and extra seawater now. Typically saltier and extra coastal and oily. Mouth: just a little extra jammy and candy, you are feeling the exercise of the smaller cask just a little extra straight right here. However the focus and syrupy texture are pretty, as are these emotions of salted liquorice, liquid smoke, candy peat and smoked lemon juice. With water: identical feeling of elevated salinity, extra sport meat flavours, paprika, tar extracts and eucalyptus. End: lengthy, tarry, sweetly smoky, properly concentrated peat flavours, black pepper. Feedback: high notch Caol Ila with a really intelligent and well-integrated ending that provides roundness and simply on the proper stage of sweetness to the peat. I am a fan, however, alas, solely 60 bottles!
SGP: 566 – 88 factors.

Caol Ila 13 yo 2007/2021 (55.6%, The Whisky Change, cask #320247, hogshead, 242 bottles)
Color: pale white wine. Nostril: we’re again on purity. Seawater, rock swimming pools, lemon juice, capers. Sitting someplace between a freshly made bowl of ceviche and a very zingy salsa verde. Arduous to argue with this profile. With water: nonetheless fairly salty, however ashier now too, with some limoncello including a contact extra sweetness. Mouth: citric and particularly splendidly limey and contemporary. Tart citrus acidity, flint smoke, mineral salts, seawater, pink grapefruit and smooth, smoky wooden ashes. With water: lemons, mineral salts, mild tarry notes, putty and a few wee sooty touches. End: fairly lengthy, smoky, sooty, tarry and salty. As soon as once more just a little lemony sweetness. Feedback: superb, however most likely similar to a number of thousand different hogsheads of 2007 Caol Ila.
SGP: 456 – 85 factors.

Caol Ila 14 yo 2005/2019 ‘Religious residence unique – 4th launch’ (57.1%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseur’s Selection’, refill sherry hogshead, 239 bottles)
Color: pale gold. Nostril: fairly carbolic and tarry, on embrocations and salty liquorice with TCP, bandages and ink. I additionally get wee notes of salt-cured fish and salted caramel including a wee impression of sweetness. All of it feels properly balanced and rounded, they work nicely these refill sherry hoggies, I believe. With water: a barely heavier tarry profile now, angelica root, smoked sea salt, briny kippers and anchovy paste. Coastal stuff with tar, basically. Mouth: wealthy and rounded, candy peat smoke, tar extracts, mineral salts, leather-based, camphor and putty. Fairly large and blustery stuff, however with some classier, earthier and sweeter components courtesy of the sherry affect. With water: just a little oilier, extra on camphor, waxy hessian, bonfire embers and coal smoke. Nonetheless fairly peppery and peaty! End: lengthy, filled with candy peat smoke, bandages, seawater, black olive bread and smoked darkish ales. Feedback: this appears to be fairly a beautiful parcel of inventory from G&M. I raises two questions in my thoughts. What have been these sherry hoggies stuffed with beforehand? And have they saved some to age additional? I hope so.
SGP: 566 – 89 factors.

Caol Ila 15 yo ‘On-line Tasting Week’ (54.6%, Cadenhead ‘Warehouse Tasting’, bourbon hogshead, 2021)
Color: shiny straw. Nostril: we’re again to ashes, minerals, chalk and this fairly good impression of fruity bathtub salts. Additionally dried seaweed, umami seasonings, MSG powder and heather flowers. Concurrently fairly saline and powerfully coastal, but additionally properly fragrant and displaying a good bit of complexity. With water: lemon juice, pink grapefruit, inexperienced olive, seawater and capers with some crushed parsley. Mouth: pretty arrival! All on smoked honeys, candy, flippantly tarry and peppery peat smoke, natural teas, preserved lemons, pickled gherkin and smooth medicinal embrocations. It is each a lighter type Caol Ila, and one which shows just a little extra charisma than simply ash and seawater. With water: pretty texture that appears like sipping smoked olive oil blended with contemporary lemon juice. You can too add ink, TCP, smoked mint, eucalyptus oils and a wee observe of hessian. End: lengthy, properly salty, once more on lemon juice, pickled inexperienced issues (olives, capers and many others) and mineral salts. Feedback: a stunning wee Caol Ila. Fantastic flavours, robust complexity and character and a really satisfying texture on the palate. I simply marvel why they did not state a classic? Was it a mixture of a number of vintages vatted in previous years?
SGP: 456 – 90 factors. 

Caol Ila 19 yo 2001/2021 (57.6%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseur’s Selection’ for The Whisky Change, cask #308900, 1st fill barrel, 192 bottles)
Color: gold. Nostril: appears like Caol Ila captured at a tipping level of age the place it sits between its ashier, smokier and extra chiselled youthful self, and earlier than it morphs into its extra serene older variant on smoked teas, medicines and citrus fruits. This expresses facets of each personalities with additionally some very aromatic peat smoke and sweeter tones from the barrel as nicely. Additionally shoe polish, mineral oils, smoked olive oils, gorse flower and outdated type candy shilling ales. With water: maybe just a little extra mentholated however in any other case nonetheless fairly targeted on the cask and a typically sweeter profile. Mouth: the cask is fairly assertive right here, with an up-front impression of candy peat smoke, vanilla and tar extracts. All very concentrated, syrupy and with all of the saltier facets loaded on the again. With water: there’s loads to get pleasure from, I simply discover the wooden turns into just a little too assertive right here now, feels prefer it masks a few of the extra fascinating facets of the distillate at this age from a hoggie for instance. End: medium, fairly tarry, natural, syrupy candy peat and just a little vanilla. Feedback: there’s tons to get pleasure from right here however I really feel the results of the fairly lively 1st fill barrel is just a little an excessive amount of simplicity and sweetness for me.
SGP: 555 – 84 factors.

Caol Ila 35 yo 1982/2017 (53.6%, Cadenhead ‘Single Cask’, bourbon hogshead, 156 bottles)
Color: gold. Nostril: a well-known and deeply comforting profile. All on smooth, curling peat smoke, smoked sea salt, olive oil and inexperienced tea with lemon. Tub salts, lapsing souchong, myrtle, wintergreen and this aromatic and delicate waxiness. I simply adore these batches. With water: salted heather honey, sandalwood, cough syrups and natural cigarette smoke. Beautiful and splendidly nicely structured. Mouth: you nearly would not consider it is 35yo, there’s a lot coastal freshness and emphatic oiliness. Notes of embrocations, pure tar and concentrated, syrupy peat flavours with numerous classical citrus and inexperienced fruit impressions. At instances it makes you consider equally aged OB Port Ellens. With water: nonetheless very coastal and with extra salted honeys, medicinal herbs, smoked teas and camphor. End: lengthy, on crisp peat smoke, light notes of seawater, pickling brine, preserved lemons and pure tar resin. Amazingly highly effective and contemporary for 35yo. Feedback: these batches from 1979-82 are simply unstoppable I believe. One other terrific instance.
SGP: 465 – 91 factors.

Caol Ila 22 yo 1974/1997 (56.7%, Signatory Classic, cask #12465, 396 bottles)
Color: pale gold. Nostril: there’s clear familiarity with the 1982 however these 74s have further energy within the type of this nearly gelatinous peat aroma, petrol, moist kelp and tarred rope. Extra muscular, extra medicinal and globally a sense of larger thickness and extra energy. Many beautiful delicate aromas beneath all that as nicely, impressions of crushed seashells and seaside pebbles, ink, inexperienced peppercorns in brine. With water: extra natural and mentholated now, going in direction of dried herbs, eucalyptus, tiger balm and smoked heather beers. Mouth: fantastically salty, coastal, sharp and filled with oily peat flavours, uncooked lemon juice, sheep wool oils and camphor. Additionally issues like putty, brined olives and extra tarry rope vibes. Huge and completely sensible whisky! With water: sensible with water now! Completely fats, oily, tarry and peppery peat smoke flavour with seawater, lemon juice, TCP olive brines. End: lengthy, nonetheless on splendidly fats peat smoke vibes, smoked sea salt, petrol and highly effective coastal impressions. Feedback: one other stage up as soon as once more. These 1974s actually take a little bit of beating! I like the way in which they so effortlessly fuse large energy with complexity.
SGP: 467 – 92 factors.

Caol Ila 16 yo 1969/1985 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail for Intertrade, sherry)
Solely 40%, however these batches from G&M have lofty reputations… Color: mild amber. Nostril: going from post-reconstruction Caol Ila to the unique distillery, with all its worm tubs, direct coal firing and ground maltings and many others, is likely one of the most mind-tripping gear shifts in whisky I’d wager. That is one other world fully. Splendidly salty, leathery and gently tarry outdated type sherry with deeply natural, drying and sophisticated peat smoke. Historical tar and natural liqueurs, boot polish, walnut oils and aged cigars. Gorgeous mixture of fruits, tars, herbs, embrocations, peat and sherry! Mouth: ever at 40% the peat is fast and big. Massive, chewy, splendidly drying, earthy, natural and deeply ‘natural’ – I’d say that is the definition of older type peat flavour that tended solely to reach in malt whisky by way of distillery ground maltings. I additionally discover numerous smoked herbs, iodine drops, historic natural liqueurs comparable to Benedictine and yellow Chartreuse. Additionally even an impression of aged Drambuie with these splendidly resinous salted honey and camphor notes. The type of whisky that you could possibly go on dissecting for ages, you dare not think about what it should have been like at cask power! End: surprisingly lengthy, thanks in no small technique to this beautiful and big peat flavour. Black pepper, smoked fish, dried tarragon and smoky, salty walnut-imbued rancio. Feedback: stellar, completely outdated type Islay single malt that simply oozes poetic magnificence and utter class in manner that trendy examples infrequently do. Tastes even older in type than the 60s for my part, jogs my memory of some Thirties distilled Laphroaig or outdated Highland Park official bottling from the Nineteen Forties with this profile of peat. Which is why I are usually of the opinion that you could possibly say pre-1974 Caol Ila is a ‘closed distillery’ – if you happen to see what I imply?
SGP: 566 – 94 factors.