32 Caol Ila, part one


May 28, 2024

Feis Ile Special

32 Caol Ila, part one

Although Caol Ila is the number one distillery on Whiskyfun in terms of the number of expressions tasted, we have once again fallen behind, and a good thirty of them are now in the queue.

This situation also affects other distilleries such as Highland Park (or the secret Orkneys), Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, and many others. Therefore, we are going to try, exceptionally, to speed up the process by shortening the length of tasting notes for the less spectacular expressions. However, this is difficult to do, as some whiskies really only reveal themselves after a good fifteen minutes in your glass. So, let's say we will spend less time on, for example, an eight-year-old Caol Ila finished in STR cask or Merlot. Well, you get the idea... But we might not succeed. Oh, and we'll be doing this randomly, as a vertical tasting would be far too tedious for this humble taster.

Caol Ila 9 yo 2013/2022 (58.4%, Douglas Laing, Provenance, for Or Sileis, Taiwan, refill barrel, cask #DL 16017, 227 bottles)

It's good to start with a young Caol Ila that should be very pure. Colour: white wine. Nose: lime, wet chalk, oysters, cigar ashes, seawater, Mercurochrome. We're off to a good start, I believe. With water: the proverbial virgin wool, porridge, fresh paint, and new linoleum. Apparently, linoleum's coming back into fashion. Mouth (neat): still a lot of lime, ash, and a rough edge related to its age and bottling strength. It's almost like a daiquiri with Hampden DOK. With water: citrus fruits, seawater, white pepper, still plenty of ash. Finish: very long for Caol Ila. Comments: have they increased the phenol ppm in Caol Ila? In fact, it's excellent, despite the slight harshness.
SGP:567 - 87 points.

Caol Ila 15 yo 2008/2023 (58.3%, Dramfool, Middle Cut, cask # 313320)

Beware, this has been finished for two years in a red wine barrique, thankfully it was refill. Colour: pale gold. Nose: much fruitier than the 2013, with ripe mirabelle plums and apples, even cider. As a result, the peat seems lighter at this stage. With water: and voilà, again a new jumper in pure virgin wool and porridge. Also cold smoke, as in a kiln that hasn't been used since the last festival. Mouth (neat): still that lovely fruitiness on the attack, but then quite massive white and green peppers come in, further accentuating the much more brutal peat on the palate. With water: similar. One wonders if there's some cabernet here, bringing in its notes of pepper and green and red bell pepper. Finish: long, quite harsh, peppery, but plum jam comes through to rebalance everything in the aftertaste. Comments: not bad at all for a red wine finish, but of course, we tend to prefer them in their natural state.
SGP:466 - 84 points.

While we're at it...

Caol Ila 9 yo 2014/2024 (54.9%, The Single Cask for The Whisky Barrel, sherry octave, cask #321523, 58 bottles)

Micro-outturn, from an octave. Could be great or wrecked. Colour: copper amber. Nose: I doubt they would have bottled a wrecked octave, right. Shall we call this one 'medicinal walnuts'? It's really a strange combination, but it could really work, not too sure, water is needed… With water: more medicinal walnuts, soy sauce, lovage, Maggi, parsley, perhaps dried morels… Mouth (neat): forget about malt whisky and imagine you're in Jerez, drinking some old very oloroso-y VORS that's got a little gunpowder and pine ashes. With water: bresaola, biltong, those kinds of meaty treats. Eating bits of pipe tobacco. Finish: long, still pretty huge. Smoke, walnuts, medicines, liquorice. A lot of pencils shavings in the aftertaste, which is typically 'octave' in my book. Comments: crazy octaves. The thing is, they're all pretty different, which just further fractalizes our references, if you see what I mean. Yeah well, not even sure I see what I mean myself. Between 85 and 86.
SGP:376 - 86 points.

After an octave, a firkin!

Caol Ila 2010/2022 (48.9%, The Firkin Islay, Marsala, cask #SC41, 262 bottles)

A firkin is meant to be a 'real' quarter – not a quarter that's a half – so around 40 to 50 litres. Which is not the case at all here, given the outturn. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it's gentler, with a nice touch of Sauternes, plum jam and quince jelly, raisin rolls… This is a really very kind Caol Ila, one might say. Mouth: yes, it's gentle, pleasant, goes down easily, very slightly salty and moderately smoky. The Marsala has probably nicely rounded off the malt. Finish: of medium length, this time with more ashes. Comments: it really does the job very well. And I insist, it goes down easily.
SGP:645 - 84 points.

Well then, let's try a super young one...

Caol Ila 6 yo 2016/2023 (54.2%, Hidden Spirits, sherry cask finish, cask #CI1623)

Lovely view of Edinburgh on the label, or so it seems. Colour: white wine. Nose: the charm of these young whiskies is that they remain close to the distillate, in this case, ashes and langoustines. Yes, I assure you, langoustines. The sherry remains extremely discreet. With water: and bam, once again, clay and virgin wool. Pardon? Yes, and porridge. Mouth (neat): lemon, green apple, ashes, pepper, sweets, more pepper, even more pepper… And a touch of mild vinegar. It somewhat reminds me of those pepper sweets we used to buy in joke shops to prank our friends when we were kids. With water: smoked apple juice. Typical of a very young Caol Ila. Finish: the same, the pepper lurks, with ashes in the aftertaste. Comments: young and pleasant. Or rather, young but pleasant.
SGP:456 - 83 points.

Caol Ila 13 yo 2009/2023 (60.3%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, French Exclusive, refill sherry hogshead, cask #307087, 232 bottles)

Remember all the 'original Caol Ilas' that G&M have released in the past? Colour: deep gold. Nose: ah yes, burnt walnuts, fresh mint, paint, wrinkled old apples, camphor balm... There's quite a lot going on here! With water: even fresher, more on green walnuts and burnt pinewood. Mouth (neat): quite enormous. Magnificent citrons and lemons, very vertical peat, at least mineral, then an abundance of mint. It talks and talks a lot. With water: splendid citrus, mild peppers, ashes, menthol tobacco… Finish: almost eternal, just a bit harsh. Ashes and green apple. Comments: a real beauty. It reminds one of those older Caol Ilas from G&M's 'Cask Strength' series. The ones with those simple yet so elegant labels…
SGP:567 - 89 points.

One last for this flight... There will be many more to come.

Caol Ila 24 yo '175th Anniversary' (52.1%, OB, 3,000 bottles, 2021)

It was about time we tried this baby. It was the 175th anniversary of the original distillery but remember it had been totally rebuilt in the early 1970s. Colour: straw. Nose: clean. Ashes, asparagus, broken branches, green bananas, seaweed on the beach, seashells, mild peat, a little sage… With water: a brand-new three-piece suit from Walker Slater in Edinburgh. Well, they have them made in Asia, of course. Mouth (neat): a lot of elegance, around softer citrus and precious apples. A very mild honeyness, touches of grapefruit and papaya, oranges, Timut pepper, and only then some 'coastal peat'. It's quite typical of an older Caol Ila that doesn't really show its age, as we've noticed with those marvellous 30 or 40-year-olds that remain fresh as a daisy (watch this page). With water: magnificent, very fresh and elegant. Sweet liquorice, a touch of candied ginger but nothing too serious. Finish: moderately long, but with much more ash. Comments: I really do like it a lot when they don't over-boost their new 'special' releases with weird casks. Tequila in whisky, Not In My Name!
SGP:566 - 90 points.

In my opinion, seven is a perfect number when it comes to building line-ups (even randomly).

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