Caol ila 1980 20 Year Old Cadenhead's

Caol ila Cask Strength

This tasting note is far overdue, I admit. I tried it in February while on ski holiday in Austria (be sure to check out the little video on YouTube). It is one of my favourite official bottlings, as you will soon find out. It was bottled at natural cask strength, implying also no colouring and no chill filtration. The nose is grand, vibrant and...

Score 88/100

Caol Ila Moch

Ha, Caol Ila, it is my favorite Islay whisky. The new Port Ellen in my book, but keep that under your hat before the prices go sky high. Coal Ila Moch is a NAS release. It is Gaelic for ‘dawn’, no more and no less. It is rumoured to be a bit less peaty that the standard 12 Year Old and thus more accessible. Very fresh and young nose on limoncello...

Score 83/100

Caol Ila 27 Year Old 1981 Duncan Taylor Rare Auld

I remember naming a Caol Ila 26 Year Old 1982 Rare Auld from Duncan Taylor ‘on of the best Caol Ila ever tried’ way back in 2013. Today I’m trying one from the same bottler in the same series, but it’s a Caol Ila that went into the cask a year earlier yet bottled in the same year 2008. Will it be another great one? Oh, that’s quite an atypical...

Score 86/100

Caol Ila Gordon & Macphail Private Reserve Caol Ila 2001 Hermitage

Gordon & Macphail "Private reserve series", this is standard peated Caol Ila distilled in 2001 matured in bourbon casks and finished in Hermitage wine casks (Syrah). It seems that there are a few hermitage finished whisky in this series. I'm unsure if the particular whiskies are chose as ideal partners to the type of casks or if it...

Score 90/100