Critics reviews
Intense. Tangy. Dried fruit and cereals. Pear drop. Quite sharp for its age. With water, honey.
Palate
Oily. Crisp and dry. With a fizzy feel. The alcohol bite is tempered by a thick texture which coats the tongue. Malty character.
Finish
Dry, spicy. With some astringency.
Comment
Incredibly crisp and strong for its age. Water mellows the nose but makes the palate more astringent. Lack of balance.
Martine Nouet - Whisky Magazine Issue 95 Nose
Big nose. Fresh peeled oranges and lemon zest. Quite malty as well but there is an underlying sweetness too.
Palate
Initially seems dry and fresh and mouth coating with that malt loaf texture coating the mouth.
Finish
Dries the mouth. Moreish.
Comment
Packs a lot of punch and is a good conversational whisky.
Rob Allanson - Whisky Magazine Issue 95
About this SPIRIT
Caol Ila Distillery, Islay
Caol Ila (Gaelic for 'the Sound of Islay') was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, a Glasgow businessman with a keen interest in distilling. The distillery is hidden in a quiet cove near Port Askaig, overlooking the Sound of Islay. The water source for Caol Ila is the peaty Loch Nam Ban about a mile away from which the water flows through fields, arriving at a waterfall near the distillery. The six stills are large and lantern-shaped.
Caol Ila is considered to be one of the lighter of the Islays and tends to be medium-bodied with a rounded flavour. Whilst this malt has a peaty nose, it also has distinct floral notes and is often described as tasting slightly of seaweed, smoky, salty, and with a dry peppery finish. However, the distillery also releases unpeated malts.
Caol Ila is by far the biggest on Islay, producing over 6.5 million litres of alcohol a year.
(Adapted from the Malt Whisky Yearbook 2024)
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Description
Nose
Intense. Tangy. Dried fruit and cereals. Pear drop. Quite sharp for its age. With water, honey.
Palate
Oily. Crisp and dry. With a fizzy feel. The alcohol bite is tempered by a thick texture which coats the tongue. Malty character.
Finish
Dry, spicy. With some astringency.
Comment
Incredibly crisp and strong for its age. Water mellows the nose but makes the palate more astringent. Lack of balance.
Martine Nouet - Whisky Magazine Issue 95 Nose
Big nose. Fresh peeled oranges and lemon zest. Quite malty as well but there is an underlying sweetness too.
Palate
Initially seems dry and fresh and mouth coating with that malt loaf texture coating the mouth.
Finish
Dries the mouth. Moreish.
Comment
Packs a lot of punch and is a good conversational whisky.
Rob Allanson - Whisky Magazine Issue 95
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