Caol Ila 25 Year

I recently found bottles of this online out of the U.K. for around $110, so I went ahead and stocked up because that’s a fine price for such a well-aged whisky. The only drawbacks I discovered initially were the fact that Diageo blends these down to 43% and they have added color to make each successive vintage as uniform as possible, color wise. I believe they may also be chill-filtered- which begs the question: why Diageo? Why? I recently opened a bottle of the 18 year, peated Caol Ila from 2008 and was utterly blown away. The fact I had multiple bottles of the 25 really piqued my interest and I was dying to know if an additional 7 years in the cask just dialed things up to 11. Spoiler: it did not. Onward, though, this quarter century Caol Ila is a beautiful, deep gold in the taster and appears oily, with thin legs and medium, teardrops on the rim. This bottle was filled in 2007 at the aforementioned 43% ABV. The nose was typical Caol: bbq smoke and sea spray. Light tar and fruity chewing gum notes waft gently from the glass as you spin and get down in there. Some apricot and citrus were coerced out after a lengthy wait. Very nice. The palate was again meaty smoke and salty, biting undertones. This leaves the fruity notes of the 18 year old completely out of the mix. It’s still oily and thick, even with the added water dilution, and theres very little barrel characteristics or vanilla sweetness. It’s mostly soft and forgiving for a Caol Ila- evidence of the time in the oak. These were probably refilled casks, I’m assuming. The finish is medium to long, oily and smoky. The salt cuts into the tongue and throat as it dries away and I can’t help but think it needs a healthy ABV kick. The final wafts of smoke return as though you’ve extinguished a campfire and just stood overtop of it and inhaled the final fumes deeply. It’s still quite satisfying. Overall, it’s not the 18 year I just fell in love with, but it is still a fine example of a well-matured Islay whisky. If you like your peated whisky with a seaside kick to go along with an impressive age statement- this is your whisky. If you can find it for $111 like I did, well that’s like hitting the bonus on a Vegas slot machine. You win twice. 4.25 stars with a bonus .25 for price and relative availability/attainability. Cheers, my friends.

Nose: a very delicate peaty, with apples and light brackish. Very pleasant, they should make us a perfume ... Intoxicating. Palate: here too light peaty, with burnt gum, musk, embers, all slightly sweet and oily, with notes of sherry. But these flavors, which are often strong, blend perfectly in this whiskey without being too strong. Delicate and at the same time warm and enveloping. Medium-long finish, with smoked beech wood. Wonderful. A spectacular whisky, the best peat I have ever drunk to date (7.5.2021): peaty lovers cannot miss it and non-lovers could welcome it as a revelation. Rating 5.00 ___________________________________________________________ Naso: una torbatura delicatissima, con mele e leggero salmastro. Piacevolissimo, dovrebbero farci un profumo... Inebriante. Palato: anche qui leggera torbatura, con gomma bruciata, muschio, brace, il tutto leggermente dolciastro ed oleoso, con note di sherry. Ma questi sapori che spesso sono forti, in questo whisky si mischiano alla perfezione senza essere troppo forti. Delicatissimo ed allo stesso tempo caldo ed avvolgente. Finale medio lungo, al legno di faggio affumicato. Meraviglioso. Un whisky spettacolare, il migliore torbato che ad oggi (7.5.2021) abbia mai bevuto: gli amanti del torbato non possono perderselo ed i non amanti potrebbero accoglierlo come una rivelazione. Voto 5,00

I've been avoiding this whisky for a while. I'm very fond of Caol Ila and was worried this wouldn't live up to my expectations. I'm happy to say it still surprised me. The nose has wet peat, malt vinegar, shoe polish, and dried heather. There's a lot happening on the palate. The texture is very juicy. Aggressive wood spices out of the gate, dry dark malt, waxy fruit, powdered white chocolate, and a subtle smoke and petrol finish. While this is fun to dig through, it seems more of a trip to whisky academia. Luckily adding a few drops of water changes all of that. The palate becomes pure silk and wonderful juicy fruit emerges from the malty palate. You sacrifice some complexity but it is a more than favorable exchange. Well done Caol Ila.

Received this as a present from a bunch of mates which was a lovely surprise. Also surprising was the fact that despite it's age it retained the classic Caol Ila flavour profile quite well, age having faded it slightly but smoothed off the rougher edges of its younger brothers. The Caol Ila moch we also tried on the night seemed very rough in comparison. Great drop at a reasonable price point for a 25 at ~ $180 USD. Taking the price into consideration I'd put the 1/3rd less priced 18 yr ahead but very happy to have this as a present :-). Update: Now this has settled a while I rate this even more. Given it's one of the cheapest distillery 25 year distillery bottlings out there I'm rounding to a 4.5.

If you could buy a 25-year-old Ardbeg or Lagavulin for way under 200 €, most peatheads would go nuts. Not so with Caol Ila, which has always puzzled me. Delicate, complex and surprisingly fruity, the aroma ranges from peach, lemon oil and mild spices to pinewood, soot and hints of sage. Flavorwise, the peat smoke has taken a back seat, while aromatic, citric and slightly resinous notes mingle with eucalyptus, honey and white pepper. Espresso, salmiak and even a touch of gin fade in the gentle finish. Showcasing the quiet side of Islay, this is a superb malt. RATING: 4.4/5.0 stars ≙ 90 pts → SUPERB [-]

musky smoke, heat, high pep, complexity, pear, non-red fruits - the high heat is a bit much for me despite it being a 43.5% ABV 2 smoothness, low heat initially but the heat will increase in time with more oaky, woody tannin, high heat bitterness, medicinal, 2 oaky woody, some smoke 2 2 creamy, complexity, low pep oaky raisin, grapes, high pep actually 2 strong oaky, briny, you get a very strong caol ila signature sour dough, complexity, oily, woody oaky, lacks any kind of sweetness or red fruits - it's heavy bourbon you can tell in an instant 2.25 woody and oaky finish 2