cascode
Caol Ila 18 Year
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
January 4, 2019 (edited February 14, 2021)
Nose: A soft and retiring sort of smoke. Woody, a little resinous, creamy and buttery. There's an aromatic herbal touch about it almost like a very piney gin, and a grassy, earthy sweetness that reminds me of a quiet sunny day in a farmyard. The longer it sits, the more voluptuous it becomes. A very good nose with a micro-hint of the sea. [The dry-glass aroma is a soft floral fragrance - where did that come from?!?]
Palate: A faintly sweet and slightly smoky entry. Grassy notes, like the nose, with a trace of oak and peat, but the peat never veers towards plastic. There's a malty character underneath everything and a touch of sweet citrus. A sooty, mineral-like smoke is blown about.
Finish: Medium. Sweet smoky notes trail off into an aftertaste of lemon liqueur and tea.
There's nothing bold, brash or hurried about this malt - in fact it may even seem unexciting. The younger sibling Caol Ila 12 year old is a vaery goos peated malt and much more forward, but this expression shows the distillery character in its elegant, calm maturity. The peat-reek is gentle and refined and never shows an inkling of plastic or rubbery notes (at least not when neat) and there is overall balance. I could happily sip a glass of this all afternoon.
The texture is just slightly to the oily side of neutral, and is (I suspect) the thing that some people may find a foundation fault. This is not a highly textured malt and that may make it seem thin. If you approach this with the expectation that it will have a lean character then you'll probably enjoy it more than if you're expecting an oily peat monster.
Don't add any water - it is delightfully balanced when neat and any amount of water upsets that. Water unleashes bitter oils and the only hint of plastic notes that I encountered. If you do add water let the glass sit for at least 30 minutes, with an occasional swirl. Some sugars will develop to balance the initial watered bitterness.
"Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)
200.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@cascode Excellent review, and coincidentally the same rating I gave it!
@LeeEvolved Excellent! Glad to hear it lived up to expectations. I was most impressed as well, the price being my only concern. $200 is a lot for the likes of this over here - I'd expect to pay more like $150, but maybe I'm being too fussy. Cheers!
@LeeEvolved Yes I really enjoyed it too in fact I rated it higher than the 25 year I worked my way through a bottle of. Although to be fair it only based on 1 sample of the 18yr
I just opened a bottle of this and I am blown away. The fruity nose was delicate, yet elegant and the palate delivered the goods just like you described. Very mature and refined. I got an excellent blast of smoke, with the saltiness being kept in check. The finish is perfect: fruity, smoky and just salty and hot enough to keep you very well entertained. Even though it’s early for this bottle- if it holds up to several weeks of oxidation- this may be my favorite peated 18 year old whisky. Yes, it’s tamer than Laphroaig and less “seaworthy” than Talisker- but it’s fruit forward and smoky balance wins me over. Delicious stuff.
@cascode - yeah, I feel like I should go ahead and open the 18 because I think I can still replace it with relative ease if it’s as good as I think it is. It’s tough to open these “beast” bottles, like the 35, since I feel like the people I’d like to share it with the most (who’d understand and appreciate it) are hundreds to thousands of miles away.
@LeeEvolved This is one of those bottles that is worth keeping for an "occasion", or at least until you have the time to give it the attention it deserves, but at the same time I wouldn't call it a long-term keeper or investment dram. The 35 year CS, however - that's a whole different kettle of fish. I've only tasted it at a masterclass but if I had a bottle I'd keep it for a special occasion and spend an evening dissecting it with some mates.
I bought a bottle of this awhile back and keep talking myself out of opening it because it would create a hole in my Caol Ila core range set. Maybe I just need to go ahead and wreck it and sample this and the 35. Hmm...