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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 14: SMOS Caol Ila 8 Year KWM Cask

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

We are going big, peaty, sherried and cask strength for today's whisky. Day Fourteen in the 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar features our Single Malts Of Scotland (SMOS) Caol Ila 8-Year-Old KWM Cask!

We have been fortunate to see a lot of young, high-strength Caol Ila in recent years. Between Port Askaig, Elements of Islay, Cooper's Choice, and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society to name a few, I have conservatively tasted 25 or so different Caol Ila's that are aged 12 years or less over the past five years or so - many having been bottled at cask strength from a single cask. There have been a variety of styles, aromas, and flavours to come from these bottles, but one thing does bind them all together. They have all been AT LEAST very good bottles of whisky. Some of them have been even better than that.

There are a few reasons for this in my mind:

Firstly - peat can enhance the style, complexity and approachability of young Single Malt Scotch. If you had one very young (3 to 5 year old, say) unpeated Single Malt Scotch and another of the same age that was peated - even coming from the same distillery - chances are the peated whisky will not only be more enticing but it will also come off as more complex.

Secondly - peat can mask flaws and/or young spirit. Whereas unpeated Single Malt Scotch can come off as being harsh, chemical, or overpoweringly spirit-driven - we almost expect a lot of this to be the case in peated single malt anyhow.

Those are just my two cents. Take them as you wish! Regardless, the quality of Caol Ila at a young age (or any age for that matter) is undeniable. It enhances any blend it is put into, but also stands on its own quite easily with its oily, coastal, marine and peaty character.



Caol Ila Distillery itself has been around since 1846 and is about a 5-minute drive from the ferry landing at Port Askaig. The Ardnahoe and Bunnahabhain Distilleries, are its nearest neighbours. Caol Ila is the largest producer of Single Malt Scotch on Islay by a good margin, and it has to be.  It is a distillery that is sought after by blenders and independent bottlers alike and with good reason. More than 85% of Caol Ila's production is destined for blends, and one of the main factors for this is that it is the heart of Johnnie Walker Black Label and the more recent Johnnie Walker Double Black.

What we will be tasting today is a single cask offering of Caol Ila, bottled for us by Elixir Distillers under their Single Malts of Scotland line. We originally tasted this cask quite a while back, and it was a no-brainer of a selection on our part. That can be said for all of what we have seen from Elixir Distillers so far. Elixir has been very good to us, working with importer Pacific Wine & Spirits to give us some of the best Islay Malts we have seen in the past few years. We are big fans of Elixir's other main lines of Port Askaig and Elements of Islay, both of which I mentioned earlier.

Back to the Single Malts of Scotland lineup: This Caol Ila is one of SEVEN single casks they have bottled for Kensington Wine Market over the past two years. Three of those were from the closed and demolished distillery Imperial. There was also our first ever cask of Clynelish, Ben Nevis and a Glenburgie. Of those mentioned the Caol Ila is the only one that we have any left of for sale - and that is only because it came from a larger Sherry Butt, which is twice the size of a typical hogshead and 2.5 times as large as an ex-Bourbon Barrel by volume.

How does an eight-year-old Caol Ila aged in a Sherry Butt taste? Let's give it a go and find out!



SMOS Caol Ila 8 Year KWM Cask

Also available in 50ml Mini bottles while supplies last

Selected by and bottled exclusively for KWM, this 2011 Sherry Butt (Cask 300161) of Caol Ila was bottled after 8 years at a cask strength of 61.2%.

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: Seafood on the barbecue, root beer, chocolate mousse, basil leaves, Vicks Vapour Rub, fruit leather, burning firewood, salty black licorice,  murky rock pools and an ocean breeze.

Palate: Smokey and salty with more burnt wood notes, steak sauce, baked dates wrapped in prosciutto, beef jerky, ginger beer, Fisherman's Friend lozenges, molasses ginger snaps, and coarsely ground black pepper.

Finish: Salty, smokey and coastal with a slight dryness and cooling note.

Comment: Bold young Caol Ila rides the waves and crashes right into a big ex-Sherry Butt. Who wins? We do!

After today's big, bold malt, it is hard to imagine anything being able to stand up to it on Day Number Fifteen, right?

Right?!?

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

This entry was posted in Store, Whisky, Tastings, KWM Whisky Calendar 2020, Whisky Calendars, Independent Bottler

 

 

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