Caol Ila 12 Year

A classic. I wrote a review for this 6-7 years ago, and it was extremely nondescript, so I’m going to start fresh with this one. This is a departure from some of the more potent Islay malts, but is one I have always enjoyed nonetheless. Nose: Black bean, red pepper chili. Sea salt, peat char, seaweed, campfire smoke, and iodine. Orange and tangerine citrus with honeydew and watermelon. Black currant. Salted caramel and saltwater taffy. Vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, and malt come in as this opens up. Milk chocolate. Sulfur and ash. Palate: Ballpark soft pretzel. Sea salt, seaweed, and iodine. Peat smoke and campfire smoke. Apple, pear, grape, orange citrus, watermelon, nectarine, and apricot. Black bean, red pepper chili. Mint. Cinnamon and black pepper. Milk chocolate. Finish: Caramel, saltwater taffy. Sea salt, seaweed, and peat. Milk and dark chocolate plus caramel. Ballpark soft pretzel adds to the salt flavor. Sugar cookie. Cinnamon, black and white pepper, and oak. Medium-short length. What an under-appreciated whisky. This has it all. The confectionery sweet notes. The wide away of fruit flavor. The unmistakable Islay character. Yet, uniquely, the latter quality does not overpower the delivery of the sweet and fruity notes in any way. It’s as balanced an Islay malt as you’ll find, and it’s a damn shame that this distillery serves as feeder for Johnnie Walker products more than anything else. And I mean anything else. I’ve had the 15, the 18, the Stitchell Reserve. I gun for anything I can get with Caol Ila printed on the packaging, and so far, I’ve come up short. At $64, this is only $2 more than I paid 6 and a half years ago. It’s unblemished by price-gauging. It’s unhampered by dip in quality—in fact, I enjoyed it more than I did then. My only complaint is that Diageo isn’t prioritizing this distillery. In fact, they’re doing less than ever because those other releases I mentioned were one-offs that haven’t been in circulation for almost a decade. Step it up, Diageo. 4.5/5 for this one.

Super clean tasting and experience, which, to date, is not something I've been able to say about Islay. Simple and direct vanilla cream - crisp and clean, then a thorough and delightful layer of smoke settles over everything. Really well executed and despite my years of resistance I'm beginning to see why this 12 year is worth 25-50% more than its peers. Not for complexity, but elegance and execution. I like Old Pulteney 12 year... this is the same profile but done with a master's stroke (maybe less a touch of salinity).