The vicarious Feis Ile classes

Caol Ila 10 yo 2010/2021 (52.9%, Thompson Brothers, 500 bottles)
Color: pale white wine. Nostril: sharp citrus, yeasty notes, lively washbacks, sourdough, oysters with lime juice and a few extra ‘outdoor’ notes of tarry rope and fishing harbours. With water: rock swimming pools, and swimming swimming pools, all of the swimming pools! Additionally elastoplasts, mouthwash, wooden ashes and bonjella mouth gel. Mouth: splendidly ashy, lemony and coastal. Numerous seawater, some tart grapefruit, mineral salts, lemon peel and wee briny touches with a touch of vinegar. With water: properly thickened with a richer, deeper smokiness. Kippers, lemon juice, anchovies in olive oil, chives, white and black pepper and a few inexperienced olives in brine. End: lengthy, lemony, smoky, coastal, sharp and pristinely recent. Feedback: yup, glorious high quality, fairly faultless trendy Caol Ila. Gathers one or two further factors with water in my opinion.
SGP: 356 – 86 factors.

Caol Ila 10 yo 2010/2021 (58.2%, Watt Whisky, hogshead, 326 bottles)
Color: very pale white wine. Nostril: Mark Watt has some fascinating issues to say about getting aromas as colors when nosing whisky. It is one thing I additionally discover myself every so often and certainly, this one has a distinctly ‘inexperienced’ coastal vibe of capers in brine, moist seaweed, seawater and issues like parsley, grass and petrol. With water: cornichons, extra brine, preserved lemon and freshly chucked oysters. Mouth: very salty, nearly like plunging mouth first right into a Margherita with these notes of agave and notably mezcal. Additionally lemon juice, wool, pickling brine, extra seawater and inexperienced olives. With water: a barely metallic edge to the smokiness, nonetheless razor sharp, immensely saline and more and more mineral. End: lengthy, on malt vinegar, mercurochrome and seawater. Feedback: laborious to argue with the purity and gutsy, saline energy of this one.
SGP: 357 – 87 factors.

Caol Ila 15 yo 2005/2021 (57.5%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur’s Selection for The Whisky Change, cask #301507, refill sherry hogshead, 266 bottles)
Color: deep gold. Nostril: I believe peat and refill sherry extra usually make higher bedfellows that peat and first fill sherry. That is the case right here the place there is a splendidly leathery smokiness with cured sport meats, earthen ground cellar funk and loads of pure tar extract, tobaccos, pickled walnuts and anchovy paste. A beautiful sense of focus and steadiness. With water: extra of those elegant meaty tones with notes of cured Iberico ham, some extra leathery notes, extra hessian, tar and black olive bread. Mouth: cured meats, smoked sea salt, brine, previous leather-based and plenty of hessian and canvass notes. Some black pepper and paprika too. Pretty steadiness once more and a very good weighty texture. With water: large, punchy, leathery saltiness now. Extra of those impressions of smoked sea salt, smoked olive oil, black olive tapenade, tar, bandages and sizzling paprika. End: lengthy, tarry, smoky, leathery and briny; fairly a little bit of spiciness and meatiness within the aftertaste. Feedback: there was one thing distinctly Spanish about this one, maybe I simply actually, really want to return to Jerez. Glorious as ever.
SGP: 566 – 89 factors.

Caol Ila 1977 (63.8%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘CASK’, Nineteen Eighties)
What number of wonderful, usually relatively huge, whiskies has this collection sheltered over time? This must be one of many earlier releases, most likely bottled round 10 years previous. Color: deep gold. Nostril: what I discover each charming and very cool about these bottlings, is that the preliminary nostril really seems fairly refined and shy regardless of the ABV. We’re initially all on petrol, moist rocks, sheep wool and wee touches of camphor, brine and aniseed. There is a feeling of fatness and richness that the trendy ones lack I believe. With water: doubles down on anchovies, capers, seawater, brine and lemon juice. Extraordinarily recent and coastal however nonetheless with a deeper sense of weight to the distillate. Mouth: this impression of petrol and seawater instantly, however with added layers and textures of smoked olive oil, fir wooden, pine resin, pure tar and black olive paste. Additionally many wee notes of tobaccos, seawater, hessian and sandalwood. Extraordinarily intelligent whisky that hops between energy and subtlety with ease. With water: excellent now. Briny smoke, olive oil, sardines, capers, parsley, mineral salts, rope and tar. Big whisky however brilliantly managed and alluring. End: very lengthy, tarry, each shade of olive, some kippery smoke, hessian and dried seaweed. Feedback: I believe the important thing distinction with Caol Ila from these Seventies vintages is the distillate was a bit of broader and ‘fatter’ in texture. That is actually on show right here and it really works excellently I’ve to say. Makes the ingesting expertise a bit simpler and massively pleasurable.
SGP: 477 – 91 factors.

Caol Ila 19 yo 1974/1994 (61.1%, Signatory Classic, cask #12566, 380 bottles)
These batches are fairly hallowed these days. Color: gold. Nostril: seawater, medicines, bandages, lemon juice and peat smoke. All introduced along with good precision and purity and with this similar sense of ‘weight’ that was within the 1977, solely right here it feels much more distinct and highly effective. I believe energy and management are the important thing phrases right here. With water: inexperienced olives, recent chopped herbs, lemongrass, gauze, pink sea salt, gorse and moist seashore pebbles. Gathers a beautiful complexity that retains evolving. Mouth: massively dense and smoky on arrival, however not acrid smoke, relatively deeper, quilted, mushy kiln smoke. Pure, silky peat smoke, black olive, pure tar, hay loft, farmyard notes, many medical embrocations, iodine, kelp and bonfire embers. Turns into more and more tarry over time, fairly immense! With water: stunningly oily now! The feel is simply good. The impression of peated olive oil, smoked limoncello (I do know after I’m getting carried away as a result of begin utilizing tasting notes for issues that do not exist), pickled mussels and gherkins, pure tar and fir wooden. Additionally many different wee ointments and these savoury qualities of Maggi, vegetable inventory and soy sauce. Retains evolving in utterly compelling methods. End: lengthy, extraordinarily deep and broad. Salty, leathery and full of sentimental, thick peat smoke, brine, wooden ashes, olive oil, tar and mineral oil. Feedback: this type of tasting be aware that might simply have been thrice as lengthy. The evolution, depth and complexity is simply fantastic. And water appears to work miracles on the palate with this one. They actually did get issues proper straight off the mark in 1974.
SGP: 476 – 93 factors.