
May 19, 2016

A little bunch of Caol Ila, part deux

The older ones. You don’t need any more literature, do you? (Serge, for crying out loud, there’s more difference between literature and what you scribble, than between Glenn Gould and Mariah Carey.)

Port Askaig 19 yo (50.4%, Specialty Drinks, +/-2016)

The first version in 2013 was absolutely excellent (WF 88). Colour: white wine. Nose: some linguist may have invented the word ‘vibrant’ just for this. It is pure briny and smoky Caol Ila, polished by time and not by wood, with fresh apples, fresh almonds, and a discreet mentholy side. Then a little antiseptic/TCP/iodine, and a good dollop of seawater. With water: your old jacket after a walk on Islay. Should I add ‘after the rain’? Mouth (neat): once again, it’s the purity that’s impressive. A smoked blend of seawater and lemon juice, with a few essential oils thrown in for good measure. Mint, camphor… With water: gets a notch fruitier (citrus) and, as often, a little earthy. Mud under your shoes (after that famous walk on Islay). Finish: long, zesty, chiselled, blade-y. I had noticed some sweetness in the first batch, but not quite in this one. Comments: as Ayrton Senna used to say, “If you take away Caol Ila, you take away (one of) the reasons why I do this.” Just put Eau Rouge instead of Caol Ila. SGP:447 – 88 points.

Caol Ila 19 yo 1995/2014 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Un-Chillfiltered Collection, hogshead, casks #457-458, 692 bottles)

It’s often that the vatting of two or three sister casks brings better results than one single cask. More complexity, for example… Colour: straw. Nose: it’s pleasantly metallic (old tin box) at first nosing, and really very grassy, with cider apples, cut grass, green tea, and all that. No smoke bomb this time, rather a lovely sappy development, with old fir liqueurs and touches of caraway and liquorice, before it starts to get in line. Freshly smoked malted barley – or ‘visiting Port Ellen maltings’. Mouth: classic, zesty, ashy, coastal, salty, lemony… Caol Ila’s very consistent, isn’t it. Perhaps touches of rhubarb and gooseberries from a presbytery garden (what?) Finish: medium, a little more almondy. Salted lemon-flavoured marzipan – yes, should that exist. Comments: go find something bad to say about these whiskies… SGP:456 - 87 points.

Caol Ila 20 yo 1995/2015 (57.7%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, butt, 564 bottles)

I can’t see how or why something would go wrong. Unless it was a PX-treated butt, you never know… Colour: white wine. It wasn’t a PX-treated butt. Nose: grass and iodine everywhere, plus the same old wet tweed jacket and the sharpest lemon juice ever. A blade-y nose. And fresh almonds, but I get no butt (well done again, S.) With water: totally unmarked by the wood. Pure youthful Caol Ila, only polished by time. Mouth (neat): cuts you in halves before you even notice. If it’s a blade, it’s a katana. Huge lemon, plus other acid fruits, rhubarb again and again, barely ripe grapefruit... But a butt? If it was a butt indeed, they last used it for sherry whilst the invincible armada hadn’t even set sail yet. With water: superb ultra-sharp profile, totally blade-y. Smoked lemon juice. Finish: long, millimetric, super fit, razor sharp… (I think we got what you were trying to say, S.). Comments: a butt? Wasn’t it rather a great ex-Sancerre cask? Spectacularly sharp. SGP:466 - 90 points.

Older vintages, please…

Caol Ila 31 yo 1984/2015 (54%, Malt Barn, bourbon, 68 bottles)

Ah, the joys of micro-bottlings and shared casks… Colour: straw. Nose: sometimes Caol Ila seems eternal. I mean, you could come across very old ones that remained totally fresh and as playful as a bunch of nymphs, and this one’s just another example. The only signs of older age that you’ll notice are wonderful mentholated, terpenic, sappy tones that make it nose a bit like some artisan turpentine (Leonardo’s). Other than that, oysters (from Loch Gruinart, obviously), kelp, peat smoke and lemon are making the rendezvous. With water: fantastic. Goes towards old tailor’s shop, plasticine, lamp and linseed oil, turpentine indeed… We’re in Leonardo’s studio! Mouth (neat): totally perfect. There’s more ‘time’ this time (!), with some chartreuse, maraschino, marzipan, smoked salmon, white pepper, lemon liqueur, a touch of diesel oil, and, well, ‘old Caol Ila’. S-u-p-e-r-b. With water: please call the anti-maltoporn brigade immediately! Adore the chlorophyll that comes out, amongst many other tiny flavours. Finish: perhaps only medium to long, but superbly resinous and almondy. Comments: some superlative, perfectly aged Caol Ila that’s got it all going on. Gives you faith in whisky – although I know, only 68 bottles. Probably zero at time of writing. SGP:465 - 93 points.

Caol Ila 1980/2015 ‘The Admiral’s Beacon’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 285 bottles)

To reduce or not to reduce a 35 years old Caol Ila, that is the question. Apparently, they found the answer at Wemyss Malts’. Having said that, as a Frenchman, I have to say I don't have a good feeling about this Nelsonian name … The Admiral’s Beacon? Wasn’t that bacon instead? Colour: straw. Nose: ah. Noses younger than the 1984, incredibly fresh, perhaps a little diaphanous, so to speak, but this is just like a walk on the shores of Islay, on the Atlantic side. A distant bonfire, some chlorophyll gums in the pocket, the sea spray, your old Barbour jacket (no tweed this time)… And a glass of this for a perfect stereo effect. Mouth: everybody knew this would be good, and indeed it is. It’s even excellent, but the stunning nose was rather fresher and more complex, while the palate is a little ‘greasy’ and bizarrely sweet. Bananas? Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally amazing, it’s just that the oak – I guess that’s the guilty party – made it a little round and ‘Speyside-y’ for Caol Ila. But it is excellent, again, don’t get me wrong. Finish: long to medium, with a little candy sugar, tangerine jam, and custard. The aftertaste is a tad ‘untidy’, perhaps, but it’s true that we had some very sharpy ones just before. Anyway, great old Caol Ila, no question about that. Comments: a sweet and fruity old Caol Ila, which is remarkable, in a way. Interesting that it didn’t go towards mangos and passion fruits, but Caol Ila is neither Bowmore, nor Laphroaig (smart observation, S.) SGP:655 - 87 points.

There are always older vintages…

Caol Ila 1979/2014 (46%, Mackillop's Choice, for World of Whiskies, cask #5297, 264 bottles)

Not too sure if this is natural cask strength or not, as the label actually states ’46.0%’. This baby dates back to the times when they still had a few interesting whiskies in travel retail, before they started to get flooded with overpriced NAS… err, things. Colour: pale gold. Nose: whiffs of apple vinegar and bone dry riesling, I like this. We’re really approaching the style of the old pre-extension Caol Ilas, with this very specific smoky/tarry fruitiness that’s so entrancing. Old garage, oils, fisherman’s boat, carbon paper, tarry ropes, hessian, fish oil… I’m sure you see what I mean. Also overripe apples, barley water, a little clay… Perfect! Mouth: some punch! You would have thought it was going to be a little lazy, but not at all. A lot of liquorice, both salted and sweet, perfect walnuts and almonds, some whelks (I’m sorry, whelks - wait…), a wonderful lemony herbalness, a welcome bitterness after that (artichokes?) and a fast growing feeling of ‘eating the ashtray’. The winning trio mint and camphor and eucalyptus is there too. Finish: long. Do you think you could have smoked salmon with mint sauce and lemon? No, it’s not because our dear friends the English do it, that it’s ‘normal’… Comments: another exceptional old Caol Ila. I’m starting to wonder, isn’t Cao Ila the malt that ages the most gracefully? SGP:565 - 92 points.

A last drop and we’re done. Dear distillers, the floor is yours…

Caol Ila 21 yo 1975 (61.3%, OB, Rare Malts, +/-1996)

Wasn’t this one the very first Caol Ila within this legendary series? To be honest, some were close to bottled rocket fuel, but that was one of their many charms. Let’s see if this baby’s as extreme as some of its sisters, while remembering that this should come from the very first batches after the distillery had been expanded/rebuilt… Colour: straw/gold. Nose: probably a bit closed, especially after the wonderful trio that we just tried. A feeling of smoked apples, perhaps some cigarette smoke, perhaps some tincture of iodine. But careful, it will pierce your nostrils, so to speak. The alcohol is extremely powerful and even aggressive. So, with water: this feeling of wine vinegar again, limejuice, damp gravel, fresh concrete, chlorine, iodine, earth… It is brutal. Imagine the bridegroom, circa 1995, “honey, I bought a new bottle of whisky to celebrate, let’s open it!” Why don’t marriages last, they ask… Mouth (neat): huge, and yet totally compact. Medicinal alcohol and limoncello, plus some lemongrass, perhaps, and some extra strong mints (perhaps). Fisherman’s Friends. Frankly, it is too strong, you just cannot enjoy it just like that, even while watching the most breathtaking Korean horror movie. With water: we tamed it, and we’re quite proud. Fish oil, paraffin, almonds, ink, plastic, chilli… Finish: extremely long, on smoky concentrated lemon juice. Comments: a total beast. You don’t taste it, you fight it tooth and nail – and it leaves you exhausted and bloodless. I’m so glad it was our last whisky today. Goin’ to bed now… SGP:565 - 87 points.

(And thank you Angus and Fabien)

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