Caol Ila by the bucketful


November 22, 2022

Caol Ila by the bucketful

A figure of speech, naturally, but we have got really big ambitions today, given that I've been neglecting my CIs lately… But let's see what we have and try to find an easy youngster as our apéritif…

Caol Ila 9 yo 2013/2022 (45%, Samaroli, The Whisky Barrel 15th Anniversary, hogshead, cask #315282, 490 bottles)

The label's named 'Lord of The Isles', which reminds us of something… Colour: very pale, almost white. Nose: getting to the core, with some pretty almondy kirschwasser, tincture of iodine, a little engine grease and probably more oysters than in the ocean. That almondy kirschiness is rather huge. Mouth: salt, oils, whelks, almonds, paraffin and bitter apples. Very dry and actually rather fino-y. 'En Rama', naturalmente… Finish: long, dry, almost bitter (well, with notes of bitters) and tarry. Propolis. Comments: another wee Caol Ila that's anything but 'a softer Islay'. Austere, with very few fruits, not even citrus, except zests. Big, big smoke.
SGP:367 - 85 points.

Caol Ila 9 yo 2013/2022 (55%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, LMDW Antipodes, first fill sherry butt finish, cask #104, 646 bottles)

Some first fill sherry finish on a young CI; as some would say, 'glups!' Colour: deep amber – office coffee. Nose: toffee and pipe tobacco, plus metal polish, cardboard and beef jerky, but even if 55% vol. is not that high, it's a bit too powerful. With water: the toffee remains the boss but the peat is chiming in, together with bitter herbs and a whole bag of pine needles, some raw wool, turmeric, pipe tobacco again... Mouth (neat): massive fudge and malt bars (Ovaltine bars, Mars bars as well). Huge and calling for water… With water: still heavy, you could use it as a sauce (Worcester or Tabasco) or, alternatively, make your own oloroso by adding two spoonfuls to any glass of white wine. Right, I haven't tried that but if you do, please report back, thanks. Finish: long and rather all on black toffee and more beef jerky. Comments: pretty beastly.
SGP:456 - 85 points.

Can we have a gentle one please?

Caol Ila 9 yo 2013/2022 (57.3%, The Whisky Show 2022, hogshead)

The label's got a secret message, which would be 'Climate Crisis, What Are We Doing?' Perhaps should we drink wine or water instead of anything distilled? Colour: pale gold. Nose: I'm starting to wonder if these 2013s aren't a little young, because this one too is a tad rough around the edges. But other than that, everything well in place, seawater, oysters, zests, even olives... With water: and wool, chalk, mud, touches of leather (which would go away after 12 years, I'd wager). Mouth (neat): ultra-classic lemony and salty smokiness, with some bitter apples and green tea. With water: young Caol Ila as in young Caol Ila. Some grassy, bitterish herbs and leaves in the background. Finish: long, salty, a little more medicinal and always very leafy. Comments: it seems that these 2013, all very good of course, are not blessed with an abundant fruitiness, are they.
SGP:366 - 85 points.

Caol Ila 10 yo (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, +/-2022)

Colour: white wine. Nose: these ages take reduction particularly well, this has much more sea breeze, lemons, crabs, seaweed, beeswax, olive oil… Mouth: indeed, this is pretty perfect, salty, briney, with more oysters, many more smoky and tarry ashes than in the biggish 2013s, seawater… Finish: medium, a tad grassier now, with a salty aftertaste. A very salty aftertaste. Comments: It's not that I always need easiness and approachability, but in the case of very young Caol Ila, I believe this profile, although not the grandest ever, is welcome. And good for making smoky Scotchitos (Caol Ila, lime juice, barley syrup, Perrier – proportions are up to you). Say 85+ for this wee one.
SGP:456 - 85 points.

Caol Ila 10 yo 2012/2022 (56.7%, Thompson Bros. for Royal Mile Whiskies, rejuvenated hogshead, 270 bottles)

Rejuvenated = dechar + rechar here. Colour: straw. Nose: you do feel custard, vanilla cream, that's the rejuvenation. Caol Ila takes it well. Then brine, lime, seashells, coal tar, ointments, seaweed… With water: old fabric (old tweed), old magazines, paraffin, dunnage, swimming pool, and certainly less vanilla, as if water had eradicated the effects of that rejuvenation. Mouth (neat): excellent, with citrus upfront this time, then bitterer herbs, ashes, green pepper, some green curry perhaps… With water: a few bitter herbs, some limes and lemons and grapefruits, salt, cracked pepper, and a tiny drop of that stronger chartreuse, which they call 'Elixir Végétal'. Stuff for grown-ups, I tell you. Finish: long, on similar notes. Comments: another fighter. Bonus point for the citrus.
SGP:466 - 86 points.

Caol Ila 10 yo 2011/2022 (57.58%, Whisky Nerds, sherry hogshead, cask #5846, 326 bottles)

Who remembers chalkboards at school? They were much more reliable than iPads, if you ask me. Colour: gold. Nose: whiffs of flints, limestone, even sulphur stone at first, then sour wine, preserved artichokes, sauvignon blanc (which I often find very Coal Ila), then the flintier-and-yet-fat Meursault you could think of. With water: raisins, barbecue lighting fluid, even lighter fluid (or ol' Zippo), more flints… Mouth (neat): once again it would start with a little sulphur, let's say leathery raisins, then open up with some cigarette tobacco and hoisin sauce. Then we have even more raisins. With water: good fun with this pretty mineral and yet very raisiny sherry cask. Finish: long, more on tobacco and tarry tea. Sooty aftertaste, with also notes of eggplant. Comments: probably not for everyone, but there were only 326 bottles anyway. A tiny notch deviant, perhaps.
SGP:566 - 84 points.

Caol Ila 2010/2022 (57%, Swell de Spirits, Wonders of the World, rum cask finish, cask #1902, 360 bottles)

Caol Ila and rum, clash or not clash, what do you think? Let's see… Colour: white wine. Nose: earth, humus, seashells, olive oil, new blue jean, musty old wine cellar, fresh plaster… Well, no clash this far, on the contrary… With water: well, it does 'nose' like if the rum was a Jamaican, or a Trinidadian, perhaps. Which means that there couldn't be any clashes, both profiles being kind of close, in a way. Earth and smoke and brine and olives, you know. Mouth (neat): a wee soapiness at first but that was very fleeting, then rather salty lemons and smoky capers. Did anyone ever try to smoke capers? Not even in Italy? With water: citrus and wool, samphires... Finish: long, very briney, tight, much more vertical than I had thought when I did read 'rum cask finish'. Comments: very smart duet.
SGP:466 - 87 points.

Caol Ila 9 yo 2010/2020 (50%, Hunter Laing, Old Malt Cask, refill hogshead, cask #HL16013, 240 bottles)

Can you call it an 'Old Malt Cask' when the malt's this young? Right, I suppose the cask itself was old… Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: immaculate, with new kirschwasser, whelks again, clams, seawater, linseed oil, new tyres. What's not to like? With water: new sweater, rainwater, wool… Mouth (neat): very fresh, millimetric, lemony, salty, ashy. Gherkin brine. With water: excellent, with lemons jumping into your glass. Other than that, we have more chalk. Finish: medium, saltier. One oyster in the aftertaste. Comments: young fresh untouched Caol Ila (as nature intended, shall we add). They're very good too.
SGP:556 - 86 points.

A last one, we shall go on another day…

Caol Ila 11 yo 2010/2022 (56.9%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, for LMDW, refill bourbon hogshead, #53.410, 'Smoked Sea Salted Liquorice', 270 bottles)

That The Society would do such exclusive bottlings is new to me, but all powers to La Maison Du Whisky here. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: crystal clear sweet smoky nose full of ripe apples, lapsang souchong, smoky custard and marzipan. Rather feels like 15, if you ask me. I mean 15 years old. With water: pure wool, chalk, ashes, lime and oysters. This is extremely 'Caol Ila'. Mouth (neat): very close to the OBs, with more citrus this time, more freshness, some fennel seeds, wasabi, seawater, brine… And green olives. Hoppla, as we say over there. With water: winner. Iodine and medicinal stuff. Finish: one that cuts you into two halves, as we sometimes say. Totally bladey. Comments: high-definition Caol Ila, as in 'Caol Ila'. No prisoners.
SGP:457 - 88 points.

What we notice is that even when they're wildly different, young Caol Ilas remain pretty consistent. But as we just said, we shall go on another day, because there's plenty more where those came from (as Pearl Bailey used to sing)…

Check the index of all Caol Ila we've tasted so far