
August 11, 2021

Our 700th Caol Ila and counting

I've just noticed that we've tried 698 Caol Ila to this very day. Why don't we push this to 700 and perhaps a little more than that? What do you say? There are so many excellent young ones around…

Caol Ila 9 yo 2011/2021 (46%, James Eadie, Small Batch, UK exclusive, recharred and refill hogsheads, 1128 bottles)

What UK exclusive? Don't they already have Boris Johnson? Joking aside, I believe I could write the note for this and come up with a score without even trying a single drop. No I'm not bragging, they're just being extremely consistent with their bottlings. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: naturally, barley, grist, smoke, kelp, ashes, lemons, granny smith, gherkin brine, oysters… You just can't question this nose, all you can do is to nod in agreement. Perfect use of rechar. Mouth: hoppla. This wee sweetness that one can find in any Islayer by Diageo, a perfect smoke, kippers, smoked salmon, lemon liqueur, more oysters, salt, all that at a perfect strength. Oh and razorfish with a little garlic. No, really. Finish: medium, pristine, perfect. Comments: do we really need any? Sublime drop.
SGP:466 - 87 points.

Good, that was our #699 and let's make our #700 a French Coal Ila. I mean, a bottling of Caol Ila for France…

Caol Ila 9 yo 2010/2020 (46%, The Whisky Lodge, Orcines, cask #2174)

Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: well there are obvious similarities, but this one hasn't got that 'rechar' roundness, which means that it's got rather more Islay mud and raw lambswool, smoky porridge, apple and lemon juice, oysters, crabs, ashes, and probably a wee pine-iness, around crushed pine needles. Vicks VapoRub too, sandalwood… I find it pretty complex for its young age, Mouth: this time it is a notch rounder, a little more on pear eau-de-vie, on the other hand there are more seashells, whelks and clams, oysters… And guess what else? A drop of Tabasco which will make it all even more gastronomical. Seriously, great drop, Caol Ila being a sure bet since… around the year 1732. Yeah right. Finish: long, a tad less perfect than the James Eadie, but that would also add some charms. Comments: absolutely excellent, to think that this is whisky made by computers. Hope Bezos will never own any distilleries (wouldn't the fake kiln look like a penis? Err… )
SGP:466 - 87 points.

Good, we could stop here, given that 46% vol. is a perfect strength for Caol Ila (while it isn't for, say Auchentoshan…) But we've got a little more…

Caol Ila 9 yo 2011/2021 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Un-chillfiltered Collection, hogsheads, casks #317187+317214)

One of the greatest mysteries of Scotch whisky is why no bottlers write 'unchill-filtered' in the same way. Now this stems from some modern dechar/rechar hogsheads, so careful… By the way, always loved this series. The Broras were something… Colour: white wine. Nose: rather rounder than the Orcines, while that would be the rechar part of the process. Having said that, no Caolilaness was lost, on the contrary, there's more brine and ashes than in a blend of brine and ashes. Whiffs of Ikea wood too, plywood, paint thinner, something oh-so slightly bacterial… Did they dechar/rechar some Hampden casks? … Mouth: my how good is this? It is a more resinous Caol Ila, with notes of pencil eraser, surely bacon, gum Arabic, smoked salmon… Excellent. It just goes down too well at 46%. I'm sure people would drink less when everything would be bottled at 60% vol. or more! Finish: etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Comments: whichever the wood witchcraft, Caol Ila remains Caol Ila. Never caught.
SGP:566 - 87 points.

Since we're at Signatory's (I want-to-fly-then-drive to Pitlochry before the end of this decade!)…

Caol Ila 9 yo 2010/2020 (59.9%, Signatory Vintage, refill sherry butt, cask #316637, 665 bottles)

These ones are not always easy-easy lounge-y drams that you would quaff while listening to Stan Getz… (loved Stan Getz by the way)… Colour: dark amber. Nose: a little numbing, earthy and full of tobacco and oyster sauce. Some leather some cigars, some acetone, some wood polish… Water's obligatory here, I would say. With water: right. Teak oil, varnish, acetone again, curry, Worcester sauce, tabasco… I suppose you get the picture. Mouth (neat): probably superb, possibly very spicy, certainly oriental in a way… But hot. In any Indian restaurant, they would have put 3 chillies next to this one in the drinks' menu. With water: richer, honeyed, spicy, caramelly… This is almost some kind of ready-made satay sauce. Finish: long and very spicy. Sriracha *** sauce, something Mexican… To be had with fajitas? Comments: a rather mad one that's clearly 'worldly'. I think I liked the pristine U-C-F better, but adventurous whisky folks will love this heavy concoction too. Conservatory rating.
SGP:576 - 85 points.

Let's check some ex-ASB from G&M's…

Caol Ila 16 yo 2002/2019 (53.6%, Gordon & MacPhail for Whisky Warehouse, Connoisseurs Choice, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 174 bottles)

We shall always remember the flabbergasting pre-extension CIs by G&M. Smoky whiskies unlike any other. Colour: gold. Nose: pure, crystalline, oily, barley-y, almost a little paraffiny Caol Ila. Cut flowers in a vase, hay, clams, a little white chocolate, old flyers, magazines… Wasn't this one a tad fragile, in fact? Only one way to find out… With water: these notes of marzipan, ink and bitter almonds that are usually rather to be found in older CIs. Intriguing. Mouth (neat): strange stuff on the palate. Fanta, cardboard, bubblegum, Parma violets, notes of cologne… Was it an ex-Bowmore cask? 1985? With water: how funny indeed! I'm finding strawberry liqueur, wild raspberry eau-de-vie (king of spirits), pomegranates… It's as if quite a few molecules had decided to break free. Ver funny and very good, but Caol Ila, really? Finish: more fruity voodooing. Comments: what-the-fudge was this? How do you score such a deviant dram? I mean, really, raspberry spirit!
SGP:755 - 85 points.

A last one before we take leave of our senses…

Caol Ila 13 yo 2007/2021 (57.7%, Cask 88, Refill Bourbon Hogshead, cask # 317318, 270 bottles)

A Refill Bourbon Hogshead, that sounds about right. Colour: gold. Nose: this is rather a naked, acetic one, with some muscadet and some green gooseberries, some white currants, some whiffs of tomato and even geranium leaves (nothing excessive, no worries), then the expected antiseptic, chalk and wool. With water: plasticine and paraffin all over the place. Rapeseed oil. Mouth (neat): extra! Tough, smoky of course, green, rather on green fruits and vegetables than on coastal things, and rather a little fatter/oilier. With water: indeed it is a rather fatter Caol Ila, this time I'm finding broken branches, tree bark, teas… It is not a 'loud and clear' Caol Ila but it sure does its job. Finish: I am reminded of the first official Caol Ila C/S. Notes of fish oil. Comments: very good, even if it's maybe not quite a pristine, chiselled, high-definition Caol Ila.
SGP:455 - 84 points.

(Muchas Danke Schoens to Oliver und Steffen in Germany, as well as to Tim!)

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