Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
La Maison du Whisky selected six single casks of Caol Ila from Signatory Vintage for their “chess investigation series“. I don’t honestly understand the theme, but I can absolutely get behind six single cask, young Caol Ila. Some of these are cask strength, others are reduced to 46%, in a variety of casks and/or finishes. They’re all distilled one year apart and bottled in 2020, so a fun range of ages.
I got these on a lark when I saw them all at one auction. LMDW has a good rep for store picks, Signatory Vintage is one of my favorite IBs, and I dig young IB Caol Ila. I suspected they’d all be a reasonable price, too, and they were. So why not? Oh, and I also figured I’d be able to get some buddies to split ’em with me!
I’m gonna taste these in two groups, and I’ll give a full order in the second, pouring more from part one as necessary.
Tasted on 6/12/2022, neat in a Glencairn, water added later as appropriate.
Caol Ila 12 Year (2008) Signatory Vintage ‘The Victim’ for La Maison Du Whisky
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 57.9%, cask strength
Age: 12 years old. Distilled in 2008. Bottled in 2020.
Cask type: Bourbon Hogshead, reconstituted from ex-bourbon cask staves and new oak
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 308 bottles, from a single cask.
Nose: subtle peat. Ash. Apple, lemon. Seawater. Malt. Vanilla. Liquorice. Pepper. A little tar. With Water: same.
Taste: lots of smoke, ashy. Earthy peat. Lemons. Briny. Pepper, liquorice. Oak. A bit hot. With Water: a bit thinner, less heat.
Finish: big smoke, peat. Seawater. Tart lemon and green apple. Oaky spice. A bit hot. Medium length on smoke and seawater. With Water: same.
Summary: This one is a bit subtle on the nose, but much bigger on the palate. It opens up a bit more w/ time, though water doesn’t change it much at all. Lots of spice and some oak in there too that doesn’t really show up on the nose. Overall this is a solid dram that I’d take over the OB 12 for sure.
Would I buy a bottle? no, there are many better IB Caol Ila for a similar price. There’s nothing unique here.
Final Score: 82.
Caol Ila (2009) Signatory Vintage ‘The Alibi’ for La Maison Du Whisky
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 56.8%, cask strength
Age: NAS. Distilled in 2009. Bottled in 2020.
Cask type: Bourbon Barrel
One of 210 bottles, from a single cask.
Nose: ashy wood smoke. Malt. Lemon. Peat. Seawater, warm sand, seaweed. Tea. Pepper. Honey. Eucalyptus. With Water: a little more fruit.
Taste: subtle smoke. Little ash. Lemon. Seawater, brine, mineral. Tea. Pepper builds. With Water: same.
Finish: more smoke and ash. Peat. Lemon, seawater. Tea. Liquorice. Dry grass. Medium length on smoke and seawater. Mild bitterness off the end. With Water: a bit more spice, otherwise the same.
Summary: This one is quite good! Very maritime, lots of big smokey, peaty, ashy flavors on the nose and in the finish. Just a bit muted in that respect in the mouth, with the maritime flavors taking over there. Some nice mineral notes, too. I dig it. Water doesn’t change this one much, and I don’t think it needs it despite the ABV. I do note that after ~30min in the glass this one is fading a bit.
Would I buy a bottle? yea, sure. I found this one for 80gbp and I feel like that’s pretty reasonable.
Final Score: 83.
Caol Ila (2013) Signatory Vintage ‘The Suspicion’ for La Maison Du Whisky
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 46.0%
Age: NAS. Distilled in 2013. Bottled in 2020.
Cask type: Bourbon hogshead
One of 351 bottles, from a single cask.
Nose: sweet apple, lemon, tangerine. Subtle peat and smoke. Vanilla, honey. Caramel. Mild seawater, pepper. With Water: oops, it’s just fruit now.
Taste: lots of sweet fruits. Sweet caramel, vanilla. Subtle smoke, peat. Thin mouthfeel. Pepper. With Water: less smoke. Thinner.
Finish: underwhelming. Fruit. Caramel. Mild smoke. All thin. Pepper. Short mostly on pepper, some smoke. With Water: all I can think of is “less”.
Summary: This is the sweetest and fruitiest of the three for sure. The finish is a big letdown, though, short and feeling thin and mostly on fruit and caramel. The fruit feels diluted, if that makes any sense. Water does this no favors at all, skip it. A very simple dram that isn’t anything to write home about. This one’s a miss for sure. Might be a nice, gentle intro dram to peat.
Would I buy a bottle? no.
Final Score: 75.
Comparison
Order: Albi > Victim > Suspicion (2 > 1 > 3)
Okay, this is fun so far. I look forward to the other three in the series. The Albi (second one above) is quite good. Surprisingly maritime. I dig it.
The Victim is good, but rather subtle on the nose. Fairly simple overall, still, I’d take it over the OB 12.
The Suspicion is alright, but that’s really all you can say about it. Very simple, water ruins it, and it’s frankly a bit thin to start with. There’s no off notes or anything, I mean, it’s not bad. It’s just average. In offensive. Generic. Not what I’m looking for here.
I was hoping for some hidden brilliance here, but I’m not finding that yet. Let’s see what the next three bring.
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 