Review by: The Muskox

After my buddies u/b1uepenguin and u/zSolaris both reviewed this whisky in the past couple days (read their reviews here and here), I had to post mine. I haven’t had a whole lot of sherried Caol Ila, despite my love of the distillery. Matured in a first-fill PX cask, this one promises to be extra sweet.

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Distillery: Caol Ila.

Bottler: Scotch Universe.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 55.4%, cask strength.

Age: 13 years old. Distilled in 2007. Bottled in 2020.

Cask type: First Fill PX Sherry Barrel.

Color: Light gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Sweet and smoky. There’s a big fatty bacon note right off the bat, as well as a spicy meatier note of something like corned beef. Loads of sweet sticky fruit – clementines, peach cobbler, extra-ripe bananas, and neon-red maraschino cherries. Maple syrup and candied ginger. Those icing-filled sandwich cookies, scented with bergamot.

Palate: Soft thick texture. Malty and salty on the arrival, then intense ripe fruit notes of pineapple and yellow plums. A bit of a green fragrant cucumber note. It develops to candied campfire, burning hay, and charred meat bits stuck to a charcoal grill. Some spiced notes of cinnamon-apple herbal tea and Angostura bitters. Maple syrup and buttered popcorn going into the finish.

Finish: Long. There are some lingering peaty notes of charcoal smoke, hot beach sand, and sauteed mushrooms, but it’s mostly rich sweetness here. Grilled peaches, red apples, maple butter cookies, and dried basil. Just a hint of chlorine.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Fruit preserve BBBQ*”

*The extra “B” stands for “BYOBB”

Notes: An absurdly drinkable and delicious Caol Ila. It’s super sweet, but the sweetness is so rich and luscious that it for me, it works. There’s still plenty of Caol Ila character here – you’d never mistake this for a different Islay whisky. I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as that Islay Strait bottling, as this one isn’t quite as complex and is even sweeter, but the Scotch Universe just got better and better as I sipped. It’s That’s the sign, I think, of a truly great whisky.

Final Score: 88.

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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.