Caol Ila 15 Year Old Duthies Cadenheads

Caol ila 18 Year Old

Softer nose, less salty and less smoky. Instead sweeter notes of flowers, apricot and marzipan. More grass as well. Mouth: development of vanilla, peat, some smoke and a bit more salt than on the nose. Finish: coffee with liquorice and that salty touch again.

Score 82/100

Caol Ila 1998 Distillers Edition

Nose: sweet peat. Not a ton of smoke in this one. The peat is thick with a sort of mothball sweetness to it. Not the most complex Islay aroma but it is nice and clean. Taste: a little thin on the tongue, but it arrives with much more smoke than was advertised in the nose. There is a sweet vanilla sheen to it, though the wine casks certainly don't...

Score 85/100

Caol Ila 12 Year Old 1996 QV.ID

As you probably know, Caol Ila is my favourite Islay distillery. I have yet to try a Caol Ila that I did not like. I found an older sample in my cabinet from the Belgian bottler QV.ID, a Coal Ila from 1996, bottled in 2009. Let us see how this pale Ileach fares. The nose starts pretty closed. You need to give it some time to discover the very soft...

Score 83/100

Caol Ila 30 Year Old 1981 Thosop Handwritten Label by TWM

Under the motto ‘one more for the road’, we’ll conclude our Peaty Party with an old Caol Ila. Not just any old Caol Ila, no, this is a 30 Year Old, bottled by Thosop, the Belgian indie led by Dominiek Bouckaert – aka The Whiskyman. I’ve tasted some nice old Caol Ila before (like the 25 Year Old from First Cask or the 27 Year Old for QV.ID, to name...

Score 91/100