DISTILLERY Caol Ila

TYPE Single Malt

ALCOHOL 43%

REGION Islay

COLOR Light, pale straw colour.

NOSE Honey, floral, sea breeze.

PALATE There’s a lot going on here.  I’ll need another one to pick it apart.  Peaty.  There’s a really hearty flavour that I can’t fully break down.  It has a silky quality to it.  Salt.  Pepper.  Oak.

FINISH Lingering peatiness.

SCORE

89 out of 100

NOTES The latest bottle of Caol Ila was a birthday gift this year from my In-Laws!  Just as well because the last bottle was just about out (it is now).

Caol Ila is one of the most distinctive of whisky tastes.  There’s not much like it and I think even I would be able to pick this out at a blind taste test.  You can certainly appreciate its heritage as a coastal distillery in the aroma.  It’s delicious, complex in flavour and one of the most critically acclaimed of the mass market whiskies.

Fun fact about Caol Ila – it is heavily used in blends of Johnny Walker.