Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 55.8%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Rum
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Hogshead Imports
Average price: € 150.00
Official website: hogshead-imports.nl
Vote: 88/100
Dutch importer and distributor of whisky, the founder Toon van Rooij in 2022 inaugurated his own line of single casks, wanting to enter as a player in the independent bottlers’ sector with the intention of selecting casks with a somewhat vintage flavour, harking back to the past style of Scotch with distillates that have a strong enough character to sustain the influence of the casks (or at least that is what they claim on their website).
At the last Milano Whisky Festival, I received a few samples of their latest releases, consisting of bottlings with minimal labels that definitely focus on the content rather than the container.
Single cask ex Caroni (something you don’t often see) first fill for this Caol Ila, bottled in 2023 in only 44 bottle.
Tasting notes
On first approach to the nose, the rum show quote the attitude, embracing the peaty notes in a hybrid of toasted tropical fruit (pineapple, papaya, coconut), toasted cane sugar and burnt meringue. But there’s more than Caroni that meets the eye, and soon emerge woody aromas passed over the fire, with pine needles, pine nuts and juniper, and some coastal, savoury and mineral afflatus blowing in the background. Scattered impressions of aniseed, liquorice root, extinguished matches. A pleasant mixture of sweet and sour smokiness.
On the palate, the cask catches its breath and lets a lively and spicy opening (pepper, ginger, paprika, cinnamon) begin on a body with a good consistency where sweetness is the master, under the banner of fresh tropical notes where mango also comes into play, adding pastry creaminess and lots and lots of salt, especially along the length. The marine part swells and breathes, bathing burning embers with fishy delicacies to sizzle, with a brief foray of liquorice and nuts.
The finish is quite long and very saline, with a slight inflection of spice over toasted sugar, smoke, grilled fruit and nuts.
The initial impact, I admit, was puzzling me with the impression of an invasive cask, but I had to quickly change my mind: the experience is very pleasant, the distillate integrates very well with the cask, reaffirming the unwritten rule that there are no bad Caol Ila. But here we are definitely on the side of the very good ones.