Product description
The now iconic "Rare Malts" series debuted in 1995 in the offer of United Distillers (Diageo since 1998), after the huge success of two other series - "Classic Malts" and "Flora & Fauna".
Most of the Rare Malts editions were distilled between 1969 and 1981 and aged for between 18 and 30 years. However, with very limited stocks and a growing interest in single malts, distilleries still in operation joined in after a few years. Caol Ila has appeared in the series a few times (we think six times), the one presented here is a whisky distilled in 1975, just a year after the distillery had been completely rebuilt, and bottled after 20 years of maturation in 1996 at 61.18% abv.
Nose: powerful and complex, peat smoke, sea salt and seaweed, anchovy sprats, roasted almonds, damp hay, tobacco, leather, wax, grapefruit, lemons and oak.
Palate: smoky mineral, white pepper, cocoa powder, licorice, lemongrass, prunes, raisins, roasted almonds, sea salt and oak.
Finish: long, with notes of peat smoke, sea breeze, smoked fish, pepper, dried herbs, almonds and oak tannins.