Today we have a Caol Ila 2010 53.242 on the menu, bottled by the Scotch malt Whisky Society. The name for this 7 year old youngster? Well, that is Honey & vanilla smoke. And that sounds pretty clear to me. 🙂
Caol Ila, together with Bunnahabhain, is one of the few distilleries on Islay whose whisky is regularly bottled by independent bottlers. And I am very happy with that, since I think that Caol Ila often produces good quality whiskies. It is fairly consistent, which perhaps has to do with it being used often for blends. But it works pretty damn good on its own as well, as a single malt. And I’m not just talking about Caol Ila that is bottled at an older age, because young Caol Ila can be quite good as well.
This Caol Ila has matured refill ex-Bourbon hogshead and is bottled at 58,4% ABV. There were 331 bottles available.
Caol Ila 2010 53.242 tasting notes:
Nose: Quite a lot of vanilla, mixed with smoke. It’s a bit vegetal too. There is a layer of honey. A faint hint of burnt wood. A touch of citrus. When adding water: More vanilla and citrus, but less smoke. It becomes fruitier and fresher.
Taste: Quite some smoke and alcohol burn in the beginning. This is followed by vanilla and honey again. With water: Less harsh and somewhat fresher. Citrus. More vanilla, and less smoke. Some pears here as well.
Finish: The finish is quite long with honey sweetness and it is somewhat dry. There is a hint of tar. A bit ashy too.
Yup, it really lives up to its name. A young, fierce Caol Ila with with honey & vanilla smoke. 🙂 But it is another good young Caol Ila. Not very complex, but quite nice. It could use some water though, otherwise it is just a little bit too harsh for me.
Sample provided by the SMWS
