Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 52.2%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon barrel first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Chapter 7 Whisky
Average price: € 80.00
Official website: chapter7whisky.com
Vote: 85/100
Second Caol Ila from the Swiss bottler’s recent releases, this time with an extra year of ageing (nine in all) but still in ex-Bourbon, albeit with a different type of cask.
Distilled in May 2011, poured into 284 bottles in September 2020, coming from a hogshead re-racked in barrel three years earlier, both ex-Bourbon.
End result? Let’s find out.
Tasting notes
On the nose, an intense mineral note emerges first with coastal veins, a sun-kissed sea rock. Vegetable peat soaked in seawater envelops a pear, banana and pineapple tart with a touch of aniseed, over which hints of candy canes echo. At length, smoked fish.
In the mouth it gets spicier, pepper and ginger along with a hint of paprika spread over a toasted lemon tart with candied apricot, sparkling orange, salt crystals. Licorice root on the length.
Fairly long finish of burnt paper, lemon, sugar paste, salt.
A straightforward and unpretentious dram, perhaps more interesting on the nose than on the palate but with enough lively depth not to leave you disappointed. It’s hard to find a young Caol Ila that doesn’t have personality, and this is no exception.