Caol Ila 13 Year Discovery (Gordon & Macphail)

Review #006 Tasted after: first up Appearance (no score): • Medium gold color • Swirling reveals a thick line sticking to the side of the glass, legs are slow to form Nose: 14/20 • Smoke and green pears dominate, need to really search for more, eventually reveals some green bananas and maybe a little honey • Sweeter on the nose than other offerings I’ve had from Caol Ila Palate: 41/50 • There’s a unique buttery flavor which reminds me of Glenmorangie Signet, it mixes nicely with the smokey peat, there’s also some grapefruit and vanilla Finish: 24/30 • Long finish, citrus flavor slowly intensifies though out, big bourbon spice, also get some Honey Nut Cheerios which transitions into an ashiness and ends with a short and salty ethanol burn Total: 79/100 • Scoring rubric 75-79: Good, enjoyable to drink but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again • 4 stars Final thoughts: • Spent a lot longer on this one than I originally intended trying to get the nose and flavors right, was a bit tricky to unwrap them • Overall a nice and easy drinking dram, you need to search for the complexity, I’ll enjoy finishing this bottle but for the price point I purchased it at I’m unlikely to replace it once it’s empty • A drop of water brings out additional honey sweetness Price: $80 Would recommend: no Would buy: no

Nose: Typical Caol Ila ashtray peat, ginger, bananas, salinity. Body: Melon sweetness Finish: long. Sweetness transitions to peaty ash. I'm not a huge Caol Ila fan, because I find the ashtray peat dominates so much that it's one dimensional. This version is similar. Ok but wouldn't buy again.