Springbank 15 yo for The Gallipoli Association 52.8% distilled circa 1999 vs Askaig (Caol Ila) 13 yo 1983 for Master of Malt 43%
A pair of interesting independents from corners of the world when whisky didn’t take itself so seriously. Springbank 15 yo for The Gallipoli Association 52.8% distilled circa 1999Young, feisty but … Continue reading
Islay 31 yo 1990 / 2021 Thompson Bros 49.3% vs Islay 32 yo 1990 / 2022 Thompson Bros 49.3%
Islay 31 yo 1990 / 2021 Thompson Bros 49.3% Lovely. Soft Laphroaig, worn smooth into a sphere of gentle iodine, glowing peatfire, soft medicinal ointments and rubs, ripe earthy loam … Continue reading
Caol Ila 15 yo 1988 Shieldaig Collection 43%
Caol Ila 15 yo 1988 Shieldaig Collection 43% It is that precise sort of Caol Ila I enjoy most, a style which holds up a mirror to 70s Ardbeg. … Continue reading
Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% Muddy seawater mixed with oxidized lemon oil, chest rub, kelp, spilt petrol, oozingly oily black peat and old nets. A perfect … Continue reading
Glen Ord 28 yo 1992 / 2020 SMWS 77.65 49.3% vs Caol Ila 27 yo 1983 / 2010 Spirit of Caledonia 51.5%
Glen Ord 28 yo 1992 / 2020 SMWS 77.65 49.3% Well aged Ord, but it doesn’t nose as a particularly mature whisky. Still we get a fair dose of butter, … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Caol Ila 1979 / 2010 Prenzlow Portfolio Collection #5294 57.9% vs Caol Ila 20 yo 1981 / 2001 Wilson & Morgan #276 59.2%
Caol Ila 1979 / 2010 Prenzlow Portfolio Collection #5294 57.9% Feels like the fire of wild youth has dissipated to a warm salty glow. Warm pastry from wood fired ovens. … Continue reading
Islay Oct 1976 / Oct 1989 Society of Scotch Malt Connoisseurs #H2 59% vs Highland (Northern) Aug 1974 / Sept 1988 Society of Scotch Malt Connoisseurs #C13 63%
Islay Oct 1976 / Oct 1989 Society of Scotch Malt Connoisseurs #H2 59% I find pronounced coastal and peat driven characteristics, and a sharp saline edge. Not a muscular peat, … Continue reading
Caol Ila 1978 / 1992 Gordon & Macphail Cask #5347-5351,11553-11564 63.7% vs Caol Ila 12 yo 1978 / 1990 Cadenhead 65.5%
Caol Ila 1978 / 1992 Gordon & Macphail Cask #5347-5351,11553-11564 63.7% This might be a polarising one. I love it but others might find it too unhinged. Bubbling smoke from … Continue reading
Caol Ila 15 yo Sestante for Novecento 64.7% vs Caol Ila 15 yo Sestante 65.3%
Caol Ila 15 yo Sestante for Novecento 64.7% Familiar sort of brutal Caol Ila, the kind that’s oily, rooty, flinty, briny and lemony, but as narrow as the space between … Continue reading
Caol Ila 1969 Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail ‘brown label’ 40% vs Caol Ila 1969 Gordon & Macphail for Donini 58.1%
Caol Ila 1969 Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail ‘brown label’ 40% Fresh! Classic Caol Ila profile, remember this is not the same Caol Ila as we have today. Zippy, zingy … Continue reading
Caol Ila 15 yo Gold Jug decanter Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 12 yo The Single Cask for Singapore Whisky Bars including The Swan Song #307362 2007/ 2019 58.7% vs Caol Ila 17 yo 1977 / 1994 Cadenhead 59.2%
Caol Ila 15 yo Gold Jug decanter Zenith 43% ~ mid 80s Lots of phenols and depth for a whisky that fells like its starting to shift down a gear. … Continue reading
Bruichladdich 25 yo 1958 Cadenhead, Macallan 15 yo 1946 Securo, Macallan 1962, Springbank 1965 Moon Import The Birds #367, Glenfiddich 29 yo 1956 Intertrade, Clynelish 1974 Modern Masters, Caol Ila 21 yo 1968 for Intertrade, Glen moray 25 yo 1959 Samaroli, Glen Grant 21 yo 1972 Whyte & Whyte, Talisker 1979 Whyte & Whyte
Sample night! So short notes only. Bruichladdich 25 yo 1958 / 1984 Cadenhead Peated yes, but not hugely so. The sort of phenols that’s been transmuted to a secondary level. … Continue reading
Caol Ila 19 yo 1995 Signatory #457 + 458 vs Caol Ila 1990 Mackillop’s Choice #1484
Caol Ila 19 yo 1995 Signatory #457 + 458 46% The fresh sort of peaty Islay, more buttered burnt toast than unholy infernos. A light toned but rooty ‘clean earth’ … Continue reading
Caol Ila ‘Handwritten Label’ 1969 / 1985 59.9% for Meregalli vs Caol Ila 15 yo ‘Celtic Label’ 1969 / 1984 Gordon & Macphail 60.4% for Intertrade
Not the Caol Ila we know today, this Caol Ila is the older one demolished to be rebuilt as the one we know. Caol Ila ‘Handwritten Label’ 1969 / 1985 … Continue reading
Caol Ila CL4 Speciality Drinks vs Caol Ila Distillery Only 2007
A funny thing I notice about Caol Ila is that great and consistent though it generally is, it wouldn’t pop up as a first thought in the minds of people … Continue reading
Caol Ila 17 yo 1995/2013, The Whisky Agency vs Caol Ila 33 yo 1979, Malts of Scotland, #12022
Caol Ila is another old faithful on Islay. Everybody knows the scale of production here, yes it’s huge, some say industrial. You know in perusing whisky related content online, I … Continue reading
Caol Ila 30 yo 1983 Special Release 2014 vs Caol Ila 33 yo 1980 #10159 Directors Cut
No messing about. I want something good, peaty and well matured tonight. Laphroaig and Caol Ila usually hold court in that category. It’s going to be Caol Ila since it … Continue reading
Caol Ila 18yo Sestante 57% Sherrywood (circa 1978) vs Caol Ila 14yo Sestante for Novocento 64.3% (1978)
This is whisky from a closed distillery. No, Caol Ila is very much open for business. But this Caol Ila was distilled at the old distillery before it’s 1972 complete … Continue reading
Port Ellen 25yo 1982 Berry Bros #2469 46% vs Caol Ila 29yo 1984 Hunter Laing 50.2%
Sister distilleries, one survived and the other didn’t. But why? That Port Ellen stopped distilling in 1983 is a great tragedy most today will agree on. That Port Ellen was only … Continue reading
Caol Ila: G&M Reserve 1996/2009 13yo #16116 46%, 18yo Official ~2014, Perfect Dram 1995/2013 18yo 50.6%
Caol Ila is, simply put, under-appreciated. Peat heads see it as a gentle peater but it makes an excellent consistent malt that seems to do well at any age. Not … Continue reading
Caol Ila 12 yo OB
Caol Ila is a huge distillery, at 6 stills and 3.75 million litres of newmake a year. Most would know it as the blending beast feeding Diageo’s blends, but did … Continue reading
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