The Islay Odyssey 2015 Day Five

February 6, 2015

The Islay Odyssey 2015
Bringing rare whiskies back to their birthplace to open them.

Day Five

Star over Ardbeg

Yesterday was another great day, filled with Caol Ilas, Bowmores and Ardbegs. We'll publish the Ardbegs later. And other Bowmores. And we alos had a great dinner at Ardbeg. Anyway...

Caol Ila 12 yo (43%, OB, +/-1973)

Emmanuel’s Caol Ila 12 yo (43%, OB, +/-1973)

It’s not quite clear whether this was an actual OB or not. Colour: white wine. Nose: a very clean, precise, seawatery Caol Ila, with a pristine, totally coastal profile. You’d even find flowers that are growing next to the sea, the names escape me. Plenty of oysters, and a very faint buttery side. Those go well together, don’t they. Mouth: same very coastal, ultra-clean, briny style. Kippers, oysters, a touch of candy sugar, lemons, grapefruits, samphires, a dash of black pepper… It’s a light, yet full spirit, with a kind of light oiliness. Great texture.

Finish: rather long given the strength, with apple peelings and bitter almonds, and a salty aftertaste. Comments: this one seems to be a little lighter, and less medicinal than earlier versions, but it remained super-clean and fresh. SGP:346 - 90 points.

Caol Ila 18 yo 1966/1982 (46%, Cadenhead, dumpy black label)

Geert’s Caol Ila 18 yo 1966/1982 (46%, Cadenhead, dumpy black label)

We’re revisiting this one. A funny one – they might have needed a better mathematician at the good lady’s in Aberdeen at the time. Colour: white wine. Nose: a fatter and sharper one at the same time, with more coal, burnt herbs, engine oils, old garage, tarmac, Bakelite, new plastic pouch, fresh putty, wet paint… And all that. Great nose. Mouth: superbly fat, very oily, with some white truffle oil (but I need to confess that we had some for lunch just two hours ago), lime, kippers, salty fish, lemon grass, a little damp chalk, fish oil… It’s style that’s now forgotten I’m afraid. Great. Finish: not very long, but everything’s there. Fat salted fish, lemon. Comments: just Geert. I mean, greet. That would be great. SGP:346 - 93 points.

Caol Ila 19 yo 1966/1985 (58.3%, Intertrade, 240 bottles)

Young Jonny’s Caol Ila 19 yo 1966/1985 (58.3%, Intertrade, 240 bottles)

Another one from the times when Caol Ila was, as it’s written on the back label, ‘small’. Colour: deep gold. Nose: starts with a grassy side that’s close to cork but that isn’t cork, between pine needles, burnt grass and humus. Goes on with ‘a walk in the forest’, some chalk, maybe a bit of washing powder, then moss, more humus and the sharpest lime. Sakes your body a bit, but that’s a great feeling.

With water: a swimming pool full of lemon. Mouth (neat): immense! Citrons, salt, kippers, tangerine liqueur, unusuallu round qo,quatspine (that was Anders, a Norwegian friend who tried to write kumquats using a French keyboard) liqueur or rather genepy, chartreuse… Totally brilliant. Same with water. Finish: long, same. Comments: fantastic, very ‘nervous’, superb. SGP:556 - 94 points.

Bowmore 22 yo 1964/1986 (86 US proof, Duthie for Corti Brothers, USA)

Max’s Bowmore 22 yo 1964/1986 (86 US proof, Duthie for Corti Brothers, USA)

Colour: pale white wine. Nose: sylphlike and dense at the same time, with a little carbon paper, ink, old magazines, fresh lemon, drops of cod liver oil, fresh almonds, lemon skin from Amalfi (says Massimo), very well refined oysters… This is lace! Mouth: starts light, almost whispering, before more and more lemons (Amalfi, Massimo?) take over, as well as citrons, smoked fish, a feeling of mineral oil (graphite?), and then the expected tropical fruits. Mangos, passion fruits, kiwis and all that. This is a 1960s Bowmore, remember?

Finish: a tad saltier. Light, rather delicate, not thin at all, more on lemon-spread smoked salmon. Iodine. Comments: more a Botticelli than a Warhol! Only problem, ‘you can drink a lot of it’ (says Diego). Nonante-quatre says Geert. Olivier says quatre-vingt quinze. SGP:554- 94 points.

Bowmore 18 yo (43%, OB, Sherriff’s, pear shape, +/-1969)

A bottle that was originally bought on Islay. It’s ultra-rare. One of the bottles I’ve always wanted to try. Tried the 8, not the 18. Enough babbling. Colour: white wine. Nose: meets your expectations (says famous poet Angus). Like entering the British Museum alone early on a Sunday morning, before human contamination. Oil paint, turpentine, marble, wood polish… Then you enter a Turkish bath in Istanbul, the women’s side. Just before they shoot you (and rightly so), you get rosewater, sandalwood, orange blossom, ambergris, vetiver, handcream… Nivea? And then it would get more ‘Bowmore’, with soft tropical fruits, iodine, lemons… What a trip! Mouth: immediate. Unexpectedly sweet at first (Corsican citron liqueur – whatever), then huge, and huger, and huger. Iodine and lemon, smoked fish and pink grapefruits, peppers and other soft spices, oils, waxes, inks, papers, old books… What’s bizarre is that it suddenly nosedives, losing steam and power. Coitus interruptus? A smoky accordion, says Angus (the famous conductor). Finish: a little short, but what’s there is pretty amazing. Chlorophyll in the aftertaste. Comments: I don’t quite know what to say. Not too sure I’ll score this. Thinking hard… It’s a little difficult because the relatively low power kind of contradicts the amazing aromas and flavours. An operapper, says Angus (the famous cook). SGP:453 – 93 points.

Revisiting Diego’s Bowmore 1969/1979 ‘Bicentenary’ (56.2%, OB, Fecchio & Frassa for Federico Minetti, sherry, cask #322, 300 bottles)

Nose: After all this tantric sex, it’s good to, ach, erm, hum… (verbatim co-taster Diego)… In short, this is bigger, fatter, straighter, more candied, peatier, more brutal… And yet there are delicate whiffs of lime tree and verbena. Patrick says rather lime blossom than verbena. Mouth: a big fruitcake made out of citrus and sharp green spices. Caraway, mangos as well… Litchis, crystallised cherries, or this pipe tobacco that’s got cherries inside (we can’t find the name at this moment), cumin, dried pineapple, dried apricots…

Finish: very long, fruity, in the same league. Comments: Massimo says this whisky was probably distilled by Leonardo da Vinci. Massimo’s a walking tourist board. SGP:665 – 94 points.