Product description
Caol Ila (Gaelic for "Strait of Islay") has been producing whisky since 1846 and is now the largest distillery on the island.
The local standard whisky is distilled from malt with a phenol concentration of 30-35 ppm, but since 1998 the plant has also been distilling from malted barley without peat (currently it is about 25% of production). Caol Ila belongs to the Diageo group and for a long time was in the shadow of Lagavulin; however, in recent years the group has invested heavily in the brand, which has resulted in an increase in sales to 600,000 bottles. The edition presented here in the rejuvenated Connoisseurs Choice series is a whisky distilled in 1988, aged in a refilled sherry cask type butt no. 225 and bottled at 51.4% abv in 2020.
Nose: sherry and peat smoke, vanilla cream, raisins, apple pie sprinkled with cinnamon, candied lemon peel, cocoa powder, notes of nutmeg, pepper and oak.
Palate: rich and quite sweet, multi-berry jam, crème brûlée, toffee, milk chocolate, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, oak and peat smoke.
Finish: quite long, smoke and ash, dark chocolate, raisins, dried berries, pepper, nutmeg and oak.