Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Continuing with my effort to review the rest of my Caol Ila, today we have two young IB’s from Signatory Vintage. One is ex-bourbon, the other full sherry maturation. I’ve had enough young Caol Ila IB’s to know that they’re generally worth a gamble, and that’s what both of these are: I got them both without reading a review or trying a sample. Let’s see how they do!
Tasted on 4/6/2021, neat in a Glencairn, then with a little water.
Caol Ila 12 Year (2007) Signatory Vintage
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 55.7%, cask strength
Age: 12 years old. Distilled on 01/25/2007. Bottled on 12/10/2019.
Cask type: Two ex-bourbon hogsheads, #300893 & 300896
Natural color. #249 of 593 bottles.
Nose: earthy peat. Wood smoke and ash. Fresh apples and pears. Salty, salty seawater. Mineral w/ warm sand and rocks. Iodine. Lemon rind. Mild white pepper and aniseed. Vanilla. Oak. With Water: more fresh fruit, more citrus for sure. More peat and smoke, but it’s very crisp and clean. Some nice grassy notes. Beautifully balanced actually.
Taste: earthy peat and wood smoke. Ashy. A bit hot. Apples, lemon rind. Very salty. Seaweed. Oily mouthfeel. Iodine. Aniseed and pepper. Rather grassy, too. With Water: a splash knocks the heat back. More fruit again. The grassiness comes through better.
Finish: excellent earthy peat smoke. A little ashy. Apples, pears. Salty seawater. Mild white pepper. Some nice oak. Medicinal and mineral as well, with some dry grass in there. Quite long. With Water: again, more fruit, more grass. A bit more medicinal too.
Summary: Crisp and clean nose. Big on the palate neat with a beautiful finish, not an off-note to be found. It’s a bit hot neat, but a few drops of water takes care of that and brings out more fruit and grass throughout. With water it’s beautifully balanced and just delicious. A nice long finish of peat, smoke, salt, grass, and medicinal notes. A bit more complexity and I’d have given this an 8. I’m prepared to say I may have underrated this when I try it again down the road.
Would you believe this was only 76 EUR last summer?! I should have bought two. I’d buy another at twice the price without blinking.
Would I buy a bottle? yup!
Final Score: 89.
Caol Ila 9 Year (2010) Signatory Vintage
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 60.1%, cask strength
Age: 9 years old. Distilled on 09/22/2010. Bottled on 02/10/2020.
Cask type: Refill Sherry Butt
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. #12 of 673 bottles, from a single cask #316659.
Nose: whoa, that’s different! Sweet dark stone fruits. Peat smoke. Somewhat funky. Smoked salmon. Cacao. Caramel. Butterscotch. Seaweed. Slightly medicinal. With Water: similar.
Taste: sweet, with lots of sherry notes. Dark stone fruits, raisins, figs, etc. Earthy peat smoke. Some of that funk again. Fatty salmon. Chocolate. A bit hot. Somewhat oily mouthfeel. Seaweed. Kelp. Fresh fish. With Water: takes the heat away. More salt. Walnuts. More fruit, even a bit of citrus now. It got more maritime, if that’s possible.
Finish: sweet sherry again. Earthy peat. Dark stone fruits. Smoked salmon. Very maritime; seaweed, kelp, fish, etc. Long finish with lots of peat, smoke, sherry, and all those maritime notes. With Water: feels bigger, with tons of sherry and smoke. Remains very maritime.
Summary: the nose has a truckload of sherry in it. For 9 years old that must have been a pretty active cask! This really needs some water to tone the heat down and reveal more of the flavors throughout. It’s heavy on the sherry and maritime notes for sure; even the peat takes a back seat to those. It’s an interesting dram, with a fishy funk to it throughout that might be off-putting to some. I’m cool with it though; it’s weird and I like it. No off notes to be found, but the balance really is out of whack.
My wife makes this excellent honey-covered baked salmon dish, and honestly this is almost that in liquid form. Maybe if she used a wood fire to bake it instead of the oven. And put sheets of dried seaweed on top… I’m trying to think of another expression I’ve had like this, and I’m drawing a blank.
Would I buy a bottle? nah. I’m glad I have the one I do, but I’d pass on another. Only about 110 EUR last summer though, which is a bargain if you ask me.
Final Score: 85.
Comparison
Order: 12yr bourbon > 9yr sherry
Easy call here. That 12yr from the bourbon casks is just beautiful, and it’s all Islay all the time. If a friend wants to try a unique and cool Islay and has never experienced IB Caol Ila, I’d whip this out for sure. The sherry cask is weird, and maybe it’s someone’s favorite, but I bet most people would find it strange and perhaps off-putting.
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.
Malt Runners 