Caol Ila 40-year-old (D.1979, B.2020) Artist # 10 / 54.9% / 0.7l

“Artist” is a luxury whisky series from the portfolio of Parisian distributor La Maison du Whisky.

It debuted in 2011 and immediately caught the attention of connoisseurs with both its excellent selection and its unusual and thought-provoking presentation – each edition is decorated with a label presenting the work of a contemporary artist. The jubilee, tenth series was released in 2020 and, in addition to excellent Scottish single malts, it included whiskies from Japan, Australia, India and France, among others. The Caol Ila presented here, distilled in 1979, spent four decades in a hogshead cask no. 7709. The whisky was bottled at cask strength (54.9% abv), and the edition consisted of 156 bottles. The graphic design was created by the Japanese abstract painter Sei Arimori, who permanently lives in Belgium. (Producer's note.)

"First, our noses are given a powerful dose of smoked bacon and ginger. The smoke thickens and envelops us in a warm cocoon, leaving a soot aftertaste on the palate. Suddenly, the sun appears, and its rays carry lemons, pears, the scent of garden flowers and acacia honey, which flow in a wave into the mouth. After a while, peat counter, the breath of the ocean and a subtle aftertaste of chamomile tea. Limes, passion fruit and milk chocolate frolic in the finish, but the last word belongs to peat smoke and a fleeting trace of camphor."