An affordable Caol Ila experience! Nose: Intense, yet unexpectedly smooth smoky and peaty character. Citrus and medicinal notes emerge, followed by a faint touch of menthol. Surprisingly mellow for just 5 years at 46 ABV. Taste: Robust smoke, peat, and brine. Abundant seaweed and medicinal elements, precisely what's desired in an Islay. Citrus and menthol provide a welcome shift in flavors. Astonishingly smooth for its youth and ABV. Adding a bit of water enhances the dram's overall harmony. Finish: Quite enduring, fitting for a young peated whisky. Smoke, peat, and brine swirl into citrus and menthol near the conclusion. A salty brine note persists. Overall: This whisky is an excellent choice for exploring Caol Ila affordably. It delivers on all the essential Islay characteristics. Availability is a drawback, making it difficult to find. I'll need to conserve my remaining bottle for now.
Smoky Scot
3.40 Mixed reviews
Whiskey Scotch Islay No age statement 46% ABV
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About this bottle
Aceo, an independent bottler, sources this heavily peated single malt from the Caol Ila distillery. It is aged for at least 5 years before being bottled at 46% ABV.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 7 parsed reviews.
Nose: Woody, BBQ pork, crackling, salt/saline Palate: Wood, damp peat, seaweed, toasted oats, smoky embers Finish: Medium length. Damp peat, mint/menthol, sweet, wood chips, salt and saline, seaweed. This is a 5-year-old Caol Ila. A straightforward, mild, and smoky whisky. This is a fantastic example of a Caol Ila. While it's one-dimensional, it's undeniably a very drinkable, gently peaty dram. I find myself returning to this more often than the standard 12-year-old Caol Ila.
Smoky shit. Smells like burning rubber, most like medicine. A bit musty? The taste is light, but wow, pretty good. Peat at this price? Has quite a bit of sweetness too. For this level, the value is great, though the body is really lacking. If the aroma were better, I would have given it a 3.8.
It possesses the peaty smokiness characteristic of Islay scotches, but it also has a very pronounced, unpleasant bitter taste. I'm struggling to enjoy it.
An excellent young Caol Ila. If you enjoy intensely peaty whiskies with complex flavors, this one is for you.
Surpassed my expectations for a 5-year-old Islay. It's not complicated, but it would pair well with a cigar.
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