Caol Ila 19 yo 1974 / 1994 Signatory #12459 61.1% vs Caol Ila 1981 / 1996 Gordon & Macphail #2081-2086 63.4%
Caol Ila 19 yo 1974 / 1994 Signatory #12459 61.1%
As expected, it’s one of those Caol Ilas, a potion of pristine power, crystal clear, diamond edged, narrow and incisive but it arrives like a fist to the cerebrum. Could you melt salt and sand and douse it in lemon oil and brine. Mineral oil, wintergreen, and what feels like a forged blade of peat, liquid smoke, strands of seaweed and a razor ozonic edge. Not what one might recognize as complex, but great nonetheless. 91 pts
Caol Ila 1981 / 1996 Gordon & Macphail #2081-2086 63.4%
To say these batches were powerful is an obvious understatement. But this one here is a corrosive solvent. Pure carbolic soap and caustic smoke. Quite harsh really, and its the same on the palate, barrels of acidic pith and acid, raw and biting, with a wretched soapiness growing at the back of the tongue. No. 75 pts
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