Caol Ila 30yo 1979-2010 50% Old Malt Cask Douglas Laing cask#5731 266btls
A refill cask of Caol Ila, usually I don't like peated malts at this age too much as I find too much time in cask removes too much of the peatiness and the character of the whisky fades. Smells fresh, flinty, sawdust, smoked salmon, fat and rustic. The taste is dry, peaty, not as raw as the best Caol Ilas, some bitter lemon and sea weed. I'm quite disappointed in this one as it's kept the peat influence but there seems to be other things lacking. I don't know how many times this cask has been retreated but with this produce it seems perhaps a time too many.
A (re)tired Caol Ila: 4
Caol Ila 12yo 63.5% James MacArthur's
Another crazy, high strength, James MacArthur's bottling, now from the Islay distillery Caol Ila. I love these bottlings as usually CS bottlings are either really old and expensive, or youngsters from specially selected casks. Here's an opportunity to see what the distillery's all about. Smells wonderful, nytrogin, acid, burnt butter, goose liver and plain black pepper. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it gives me something totaly different. It's sweet, probably from bourbon wood, really numbs my tongue, once again easy, cereals, butterscotch, tobacco, tin soil, burnt wood and salt. I know many peat-posterboys out there argues about what's the most flavourful Islayer, well, try this!!!
If you're into peaty stuff: 7.5
Caol Ila 13yo 59.8% James MacArthur's
Let's go whooping bananas with a Caol ila almost 60% as an ender to this fabulous whisky evening. I don't know if this is a single cask, but its all on bourbon that's for sure. It smells marvellous, all on lemon and vanilla, could it be too sweet? Let's taste. The taste is extremely oily, a fat islayer and also vanilla and some sour notes. This is a fantastic whisky, the bourbon notes plays me a trick but they don't last too long and then an aftertaste og citrus notes, vanilla, cedarwood and floral notes comes along.
Fantastic Caol Ila, very sophisticated for this strength: 7.5
Caol Ila 26yo 50% Old Malt Cask Douglas Laing
I believe this is my first really old(!) Caol Ila, of course there's probably much older ones out there, but 26 is old for an islay malt in my opinion. It's much darker than most Caol ila's. It smells really light, like a malt aperitif, malt liqueur? I know that years in cask decreases the level of peat, but this one is definately on the light side. Smells a bit smoky, but very herbal and coastal. The taste is sweet and minty at first, but then gets very dry, like some older bourbon-matured Macallans, before it finishes on a high note with lots of peat and salty, crisp notes.
I'd love to give this a higher score, but it's just too dry: 7
Caol Ila 13yo 1993-2006 OB Moscatel Finish
A Caol Ila finished in dark moscatel wood? I've never tried Dark Moscatel, but is it similar to the white one, I guess I'm in for a sweet dram. It smells sort of like a sherried Caol Ila without the sulphur. Red wine, sweetness and earthy notes. It has the peatiness of Caol Ila on the palate, but all the coastal Islay character is gone, it's sweet, a bit anis, some bourbon, tannins and oak. It's a totally different expression, but I love it. I think if it were to be a whisky with more similarity to the Caol Ila 12yo it would've had trouble standing on it's own.
The sound of Moscatel?: 7
Caol Ila 12yo 57.9% OB
It has a sweetness that I found in the older versions of the standard OB, the ones from back in the early 2000's, older...(?). Anyway, I guess it could be that more of the distillery charistica is kept due to less dilution. Marzipan, sugar and salty, coastal, maritime notes. The taste is at first very sweet and reminds me somewhat of the Glengoyne 12yo CS OB at about 57%. But not for long, here comes the peat in large proportions, with more coastal notes added. Water is not needed if your not looking for something more similar to the standard 12yo.
A very good Caol ila: 7
Caol Ila 12yo 43% OB
Light Whisky, smells beautiful of summer and flowers. The taste gets me on other thoughts. It's very smoky, almost like a rough dominican cigar. A classic Islay malt that's very firm in the mouth, not very nuanced, and obviously not for the finer malt enthusiasts.
A classic Islay: 5.5
Caol Ila 26yo 1982-2008 54.6% DTC cask 2738
A very peaty presence on this Islay no doubt. The nose is a real appetizer. The taste is fruity, loafy and seems much lighter than the OB's I've tried from this distillery. The taste is very dry, peated, starch, nuts, burnt grass and onions. The aftertaste is strong, peppery, acidic and eucalyptic and very influenced by the plain oak cask.
For the ones with a special interest: 4
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