Review by: The Muskox

What better way to celebrate my 300th whisky review than with the oldest scotch I’ve ever tried? I love bourbon-cask Caol Ila at young ages, so let’s see how this one turns out after 31 years in the cask.

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Distillery: Caol Ila.

Bottler: Cadenhead’s.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 50.7%. Cask strength

Age: 31 years. Distilled in 1984. Bottled in 2015.

Cask type: Ex-bourbon hogshead.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Straw. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Sweet, bright, and fragrant, with mild but complex peat. Earth, herbs, cured meats, chimney soot. Caramelized onions? There’s a layer of honey, fruit, and vanilla sitting on top. Pear, lemon, apple, and fresh ginger. Creamy matcha and lavender. There’s some Talisker-esque savoury hot pepper in here, like a poblano. Some nutty malt and barley sugar. A little bit of something solventy, as well as mineral.

Palate: Rich and oily texure. Honey and vanilla up front, with dried apricots, ginger, nuts, and a bit of powdered sugar. It gets savoury quickly, develops to mouth-filling peat smoke, more poblanos, soot, and caramelized meat. Earth, salt, thyme, and citrus pith, followed by a good dose of savoury oak and hot pepper. Tobacco next, with more salt, toasted peanuts, slight anise and a lifting peppermint note.

Finish: Long. More poblano and chipotle. Grass and ash, getting back into lavender. Charred peach, lime, and pear. Ginger and more savoury meat. Chili-spiced dark chocolate. Fades to demerara sugar and ham.

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Conclusion: Man, this hits that sweet-savoury-salty balance so nicely. The nose especially is just gorgeous. It’s so purely Caol Ila- the ginger, meat, soot, honey, and grassy smoke all work together in their deliciousness. The poblano notes in here just amazing. I don’t find it to be as stellar as that Ardbeg, but come on. How can you not enjoy this?

Final Score: 90.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.