Fable Chapter One - Caol Ila 10 Year Old 2010

Blind tasting Nose: right away very nice. Peaty, light, warm. Reminds of kilchoman Taste: like the nose, light fruit finish Wood: bourbon Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ok. This one took me a minute to figure out. For those that are not aware ‘Fable Whisky’ is a relatively new brand of independently bottled single malt whisky. Fable was created in 2020 by Calum Lawrie and Andrew Torrance. Lawrie and Torrance are directors of Pendulum Spirits Ltd., a Scotland-based company. Fable have entered the market on the back of creative arts heavy marketing leaning heavily into a branding strategy that uses animation, artwork, music, and pottery. Currently there are two collections or ‘volumes’. Volume 1 delves into the legend of ‘The Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay’, a story hailing from the South West Coast of Scotland, close to Stranraer. Through collaboration with artist Hugo Cuellar Fable attempted to create ‘an enchanted world, from which label illustrations highlighting characters and scenes form a set of eleven Chapters’. In this series I will be exploring chapters one to five. Looking at the limited entries on Distiller, it is easy to get lost in these bottles. Chapter one has seen 17 (yes, 17!) releases going back to distillate produced in 2008 through to the most recent in 2014. All are Cool Ila distillate matured in ex-bourbon refill Hogsheads for 8-12 years and released as single cask expressions at cask strength. The different releases range from 190-320 bottles each and have different global markets. Tonight I am drinking the 5th release (cask number 313836) distilled 16/08/2010 and aged 10 years. 311 bottles were filled at 57.3% on 27/07/2021 and released to the Australian, Danish, and UK markets. N: Clean and surprisingly delicate with no suggestion of the high ABV. Lovely savoury salted meat character is dominant with plenty of smoky and briny BBQ aromas. A very light preserved lemon and herbaceous pepper come through readily. More time takes you further into a maritime environment of pebble beaches and maybe the suggestion of creosoted briny old wood that is subtly linked with toasted grains. A little straightforward and simple, not that that is bad here; as its done very well I think. P: Theres the ABV, instantly drying and with a relic harsh roughness like sandpaper on the tongue. Yet, plenty of flavour too. Charcoal heavy, burnt BBQ ends, honey and red chillies, wholemeal toast, a tiny tiny tiny apple crunch and freshness. Preserved lemon. Leathery, and with some vague aniseed. F: Long. Smoked meat stays aggressively forefront, a little dusty oatmeal, chilli and black pepper. I first tried a Caol Ila, in 2016, a half empty bottle of CI12 was poured. The only memory I can recall is of preserved lemon. That is here, so I guess thats a weak confirmation that this liquid is indeed an Islay classic. But, I am profoundly disappointed this evening. The nose here is an exploration of perfection in simplicity, light, engaging, subtle and enjoyable. What follows though is unbridled, unrestrained, and harsh. Perhaps as I am being now. The instant rough dryness that rasps across the tongue means any development of palate fails to get going. I sense there may be some lovely peat tones in here, but burnt meat and charcoal just smack instead. The malt feels wholesome and weighty, but its hidden away. The lemon, leathery anise and touch of apple freshness are desperately needed, but they barely produce. The chilli rich finish is like a cheap imitation of Talisker. So, yes I am disappointed. A definite case of style over substance. Lots of points for style though! Oh, water: a drop or two brings out a fresh grass/gooseberry element to the nose that I think is great, but leaves nothing but ashy-wateryness in the palate and light chilli on the finish. Maybe add water and just smell it? Distiller whisky taste: #186 No rock tonight, instead, Fables telling of the Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay. “There was once a small settlement perched on a sea cliff in Scotland’s wild southwest corner. The four compass points would take you elsewhere – east to the borders, north to the country’s heart, south to glacial lakes and west by boat across the waters - but the locals stayed put. For the land here, which should have been barren, was remarkably rich for farming (a well-kept secret). Lashed by rain, these were hardy folk as tough as the granite rock beneath their feet. They did not complain or scare easily, but for one strange thing. On stormy nights, when the moon was nearly drowned, eerie screams seemed to come from below them. There, where jarring waves met rugged bay, stood a gapping, hollow cave. The cave was left untouched until, one day as the earth was thawing, an old piper appeared with a dog. The rough hound was as grey as the beard of its owner. The piper was surely the finest in the land (as no doubt was his father before him). His bagpipes were crudely made and yet, from this instrument, came a merry sound that even stopped the crows from cawing. No one had heard such cheerful tunes. And so, accompanied by his faithful dog, the piper ventured into the cave, playing boldly as we went. At the entrance, the locals waited and listened. Hours passed and the pipes grew quieter until there was no sound at all. Suddenly the hound, once shaggy, ran out of the cave howling, without a single hair left on his shivering body. Deep underground, the piper continued to play as the fairies yelled, cursing him to leave. On he went, with a chill upon him, towards a distant light. The music soared above the terrible cries until the piper reached the cave’s centre. The piper was now in the mouth of a dreadful storm yet still he played. Furious at being bested by a human, the fairies departed, leaving a labyrinthine of mazes behind them to trap the poor piper inside. The piper was never seen again and not one settler could later recall his face. The cave’s entrance is now long gone, but hear me! Stand on that cliff in the middle of the night and a feint melody of pipes can still be heard coming from the depths below.” Fable running scores: Chapter 1 - Call Ila 10, 2010: 2.75/5