My local shopkeeper invited me a while ago to a private (small circle) event with Independent Bottlers and Small Releases to show me there's a whole world beyond the beaten paths and standard releases of the well known brands. Since was by car, I kept my line-up short, and focussed on the peated drams; this is the second review of the three drams I tasted: - The Maltman (Secret Orkney Distillery) 2005 12 Year Old (Sherry Hogshead) - Hunter Laing's The Old Malt Cask Caol Ila 2009 (9 Year Old) Red Wine Finish - Hepburn's Choice Caol Ila 2009 5 Year Old (Quarter Cask) While the 12 Year Old by The Maltman immediately made a great impression, I also was very interested to try the Caol Ila bottle by Hunter Laing. This 9 Year old whisky, distilled in 2009 and left to mature in a Red Wine cask until februari 2019, again is a single cask release with only 385 bottles available. Interesting about this release is that the Red Wine Cask was charred before refilling it with this spirit - this certainly reflects to its gorgeous dark, copper orange color. I tried the Caol Ila 12 before and liked it - but I remember the disappointment of the 18 year old. How would this even younger sibbling hold up? Spoiler alert: it made my day. The nose immediately reveals a bold peatsmoke, accompanied by sweet fruits. On the palate, there's more delicious peat, accompanied by a hint of tobacco with peppers and cinnamon, and a mixture of sweet fruits - I find Strawberries, Apples, Berries, Oranges... The aftertaste lingers on for a more than moderate while, with a pleasant combination of salt, peat and smoke, and a hint of raisins. I can only conclude that I'm so glad I tried this one. It's bold and peaty - more similar to the official 12 year old than to the more tempered 18 year old - but has definitely more character and roundness than either of them. I've purchased this bottle without too much thought, and I know I'm not going to regret it. What I'm going to regret though, considering there are only about 356 bottles left, is the slim chance I'll be able to ever replace it when (once) the bottle gets killed. I'm rating this release 4.75 stars, but I was very tempted to give it the maximum of 5 stars. If you like a bold but balanced peated whisky, combined with some wine finishing, don't hesitate to buy this one if you get the chance!