Caol Ila 20 years old (D.1975, B.1996) Rare Malts /61.18%/ 0.75l
- The Rare Malts selection is a series of bottlings first released by United Distillers (predecessor to Diageo) in 1995 and discontinued in 2005.
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.