Caol Ila 12 Year

A classic. I wrote a review for this 6-7 years ago, and it was extremely nondescript, so I’m going to start fresh with this one. This is a departure from some of the more potent Islay malts, but is one I have always enjoyed nonetheless. Nose: Black bean, red pepper chili. Sea salt, peat char, seaweed, campfire smoke, and iodine. Orange and tangerine citrus with honeydew and watermelon. Black currant. Salted caramel and saltwater taffy. Vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, and malt come in as this opens up. Milk chocolate. Sulfur and ash. Palate: Ballpark soft pretzel. Sea salt, seaweed, and iodine. Peat smoke and campfire smoke. Apple, pear, grape, orange citrus, watermelon, nectarine, and apricot. Black bean, red pepper chili. Mint. Cinnamon and black pepper. Milk chocolate. Finish: Caramel, saltwater taffy. Sea salt, seaweed, and peat. Milk and dark chocolate plus caramel. Ballpark soft pretzel adds to the salt flavor. Sugar cookie. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, and oak. Medium-short length. What an under-appreciated whisky. This has it all. The confectionery sweet notes. The wide away of fruit flavor. The unmistakable Islay character. Yet, uniquely, the latter quality does not overpower the delivery of the sweet and fruity notes in any way. It’s as balanced an Islay malt as you’ll find, and it’s a damn shame that this distillery serves as feeder for Johnnie Walker products more than anything else. And I mean anything else. I’ve had the 15, the 18, the Stitchell Reserve. I gun for anything I can get with Caol Ila printed on the packaging, and so far, I’ve come up short. At $64, this is only $2 more than I paid 6 and a half years ago. It’s unblemished by price-gauging. It’s unhampered by dip in quality—in fact, I enjoyed it more than I did then. My only complaint is that Diageo isn’t prioritizing this distillery. In fact, they’re doing less than ever because those other releases I mentioned were one-offs that haven’t been in circulation for almost a decade. Step it up, Diageo. 4.5/5 for this one.

Inexplicably continuing my hot-weather peated scotch tasting this evening with Caol Ila, which I've not had in some time and have also not reviewed. Presents a golden hue not unlike Chardonnay. But that's where the familiarity ends: there is some pear, tangerine, and saline in concert with gently smoky peat on the nose. More smokiness sits atop a creamy mouthfeel with some additional sweetness, like crème brûlée. Finishes with some smoke, additional sweetness, and a bitter chary note. 3.75 on the Distiller scale. Caol Ila pales in comparison to the ostentatiousness of its bigger Islay brothers, but its delicacy allows it to maintain a niche both as a standalone single-malt and a blending component of Johnnie Walker. 43% ABV. N.B.: All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

Caol Ila Workshop Scottish distillery Peated Islay Whiskeys This past Thursday, 7/11, whiskey specialist PJota Tomé led a beautiful workshop at the headquarters of ABS Minas (Brazilian Association of Sommeliers) on Islay peat produced by the Scottish distillery Caol Ila. ABS Minas partner, Ingá mineral water, kept all participants very well hydrated. In a blind tasting, peated examples of 4 different single malts and 1 guest blended malt were tasted. And after the sensorial analysis of all the whiskeys, in a close vote, the 12 years Single Malt was chosen as the second in the competition. Congratulations to the participants for their performance in the race and congratulations to PJota for organizing this incredible event.

Caol ila酒廠於1846由亥克特‧漢德森（Hector Henderson）創立，在蓋爾語中的意思是「艾雷海峽」（Sound of Islay）。 Caol ila就位於山腳下一個宛若畫作的小港口，隔著艾雷海峽與吉拉島的雙峰遙遙相望，港口旁還有不少海豹與水獺等野生動物。或許自然景觀依舊，但Caol ila其實走過不同的發展階段，我們把歷史拉回草創之初，1863年接手的Norman Buchanan同樣因為財務問題，酒廠賣給了在格拉斯哥的調和公司Bulloch, Lade & Co.，之後1879年酒廠重建且擴產，1880年產達到147,000加侖威士忌，甚至擁有自己的蒸汽船Pibroch，可以運威士忌到格拉斯哥，成為艾雷產量最大酒廠，堪稱酒廠第一階段盛世。 1920年酒廠被Caol Ila Distillery接收，1927年DCL成為擁有者，因為威士忌大受歡迎，酒廠在1970年代擴張提供知名品牌Bells（英國銷售最佳調和蘇格蘭威士忌）原酒，1972年所有建物除了酒窖之外都被拆除並且重建，1974年總共花費一百萬英鎊裝修完成，並且裝上六支新的蒸餾器，這階段堪稱第二階段盛世。 色澤:淡麥桿色 香氣:溫順，檸檬酸般的水果味；清新而開味，淡煙燻，加水稀釋後出現杏仁油與油布般的香氣，新鮮水果味仍然浮現，橄欖油般的感覺，然後是乾燥花香 花旗參 口感:起始甜味，輕淡而芳香的煙燻，平順，愉悅的口感；加水稀釋出現淡淡的酸度，鹹度與甜度，與主要口味出現複雜的平衡 尾韻:繚繞而甜的煙燻

Super clean tasting and experience, which, to date, is not something I've been able to say about Islay. Simple and direct vanilla cream - crisp and clean, then a thorough and delightful layer of smoke settles over everything. Really well executed and despite my years of resistance I'm beginning to see why this 12 year is worth 25-50% more than its peers. Not for complexity, but elegance and execution. I like Old Pulteney 12 year... this is the same profile but done with a master's stroke (maybe less a touch of salinity).

Medium/full body. Nose: Beuatiful smoke and finally cma smell that peat, i mean really get the peat. Tatse: vanilly/caramelly pepper and salt, it tastes like a sea weathered ship, a stormy sea night in a cup. Finish: very smooth and full quick finish. Great mouth feel, really coats your whole mouth. More citrus notes come out with a little water, but I prefer it without. The gentle Scottish sea in a glass. Feels more delicate/eligant than the Lagavulin 16, would love to comapre them side hy side.