Scotch Whisky Review #506: Caol Ila 18 Year Unpeated Style Diageo Special Releases 2017
Reviewed by: zSolaris
Distillery: Caol Ila.
Region: Islay.
Age: 18 year.
ABV: 59.8%. Cask Strength.
Cask Type: Refill American oak hogsheads.
Price: Sample courtesy of /u/dustbunna.
Color: 0.6, Old Gold.
This whisky was reviewed blind courtesy of /u/dustbunna as part of a Twelve Fourteen Days of Christmas set. The note on this dram was “X (Ten) Lords-a-Leaping”.
Nose: This seems like it is either lightly peated, with a very gentle and light peat level, or it might be from a worm tub distillery with the heft those places can give. Notes wise you get vanilla, lemon curd, and a bit of chamomile.
Palate: This is quite hot for me. The major note is lemon, but as in lemon hard candies. Those perle di sole lemon drops comes to mind distinctly, but that’s probably because the wife has carried bags of them with her everywhere for the last nine months or so. Water does temper the heat, though that lemon hard candy note sticks around. You get a bit of vanilla, a smidge of wax, but mostly a very hefty mouthfeel. It’s the kind of weight I associate heavily with worn tub using distilleries.
Finish: Medium in length. Lemon curd linzer cookies and some rosemary are what comes to mind.
Guess: The lemon and wax-y notes make me think Clynelish but I can’t get past the peaty/worm-tubby notes on the nose/palate. The flavor profile doesn’t seem like it would be a Craigellachie but the mouthfeel is spot on. Knowing /u/dustbunna, it’s going to be some Indian whisky or something. Scotland. Speyside. Craigellachie. 10-14 years of age. Ex-Bourbon cask. 60-65% ABV.
Reveal: Caol Ila 18 Year Unpeated Style Diageo Special Releases 2017.
Conclusion: My reaction to seeing this reveal was “huh, so that’s what unpeated Caol Ila tastes like”. Overall this comes off a bit simple with those lemon notes really just being most of all you get. There are little pops of other flavors but nothing that really gives a lot of depth. Maybe this would have done better in something other than refill bourbon, ex-sherry might have been a better cask type to get some depth of flavor going since this does seem to be a fairly strong distillate. Not bad, tasty enough, but nothing particularly exciting.
Rating: 80.
Scotch Whisky Review #506, Islay Review #85, Whisky Network Review #671
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 
