SCN Caol Ila 11 Year
$149.99
This 11 year old Caol Ila was 58.8% bottled at 58.8% from a Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead.
Caol Ila 12 Year
$99.99
The most overlooked of all the peated heavyweights, despite the fact that it out-produces all of them by a substantial margin, Caol Ila (pronounced 'cull-eela') is a not-so-hidden gem for malt lovers. It is a sister distillery to Lagavulin (and Port Ellen!) and produces whisky with the same level of phenols as Lag, though generally speaking Caol Ila is a tick more delicate. The distillery's general profile is usually fairly citrus-driven, with a strong maritime influence and clean herbal notes. The 12 year old is an icon, but if you ever get a chance to walk up the age-stated range into the 20s and 30s, do not pass up the opportunity.
43% abv
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Subdued, citric fruitiness; a whiff of bath oil and dentist's mouthwash. A fresh and appetising nose, with little or no trace of smoke.
Palate: Drinks well at natural strength; sweet start; pleasant, light fragrant smokiness and a lengthy finish.
Finish: Sweet smokiness in the lingering, slightly sour finish.
Port Askaig 8 Year
$79.99
Peatheads, rejoice! For those searching for a fix of sharp, young peat and bucketloads of billowy smoke, look no further. Port Askaig is a wee ferry port off the east coast of the isle of Islay. Its proximity to two of the island's most unfairly overlooked distilleries should give some sort of clue as to the pedigree of this neat little treat of a dram. Your choices are either Caol Ila or Bunnahabhain, and let's just say the answer rhymes with Caol Ila (Do you know how hard it is to rhyme in Gaelic?!).
If you know the distillery's character you'll immediately be able to see it all over this one. A true value whisky too. 45.8% abv, uncolored and non-chill-filtered.
Port Askaig 28 Year
$499.99
This whisky was featured on Day 5 of our 2023 KWM UBER Whisky Calendar. You can read Evan's blog post on it here.
Bottled at 45.8%, after maturing in Refill American Oak Hogsheads, this 28 year old Mystery Islay Single Malt scored 90pts with @WhiskyFun. While the blogosphere seems to think this is Caol Ila, we were told by the bottler they strongly believed it to be Laphroaig. Curious, but either way, it is an amazingly good old Islay Single Malt Scotch at a stellar price!
OMC 25th Annv Caol Ila 12 Year
$179.99
This 2011 vintage Caol Ila was bottled from a single sherry butt at 50% and 12 years of age as part of the Old Malt Cask 25th Anniversary Range. Exclusive to KWM!
About the Old Malt Cask 25th Anniversary Range
“The flagship Old Malt Cask series was launched in 1998 and quickly became known amongst connoisseurs as an umbrella for whiskies of the highest quality. Twenty five years later we continue to offer the finest casks from our family cellars under the Old Malt Cask brand, still bottled at 50% alcohol and of course without artificial colouring or chill-filtration. To celebrate a quarter of a century of Old Malt Cask single malts we have selected twenty five expressions to be bottled in the brand’s original, iconic, green and gold presentation. These Twenty Fifth Anniversary releases are drawn from across Scotland’s signature whisky producing regions and reflect the varied selection of Malts which have appeared under the Old Malt Cask banner. As ever with the Old Malt Cask range we offer them to you with confidence and pride.”
Cut Point Caol Ila 2011 Single Cask
$139.99
Excellent young Caol Ila from local darlings Cut/Point. This is brash and loud-mouthed young Caol Ila, make no mistake, but there's also a sort of hidden complexity here; not in the sense that it's tough to unravel, but more like there's a rather difficult balance being struck here. There's a lot of youth on display - which is great when drinking peated whisky, as youth generally equals big smokiness - but it drinks far from underripe. A style that perfectly suggests the aromas you'll encounter at the distillery.
279 bottles from ex-Bourbon Hogshead #307974. 56.6%
Maltbarn Caol Ila 2007
$299.99
Caol Ila, more than any other Islay single malt, seems to marry really well with sherry casks. We expect this 15-year-old to be no exception. A small outturn of only 153 bottles, only a handful of which came to KWM. 88.44pts Whiskybase
Natural colour, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 52.1% abv
SMOS Res Casks No.9 Caol Ila 8 Year
$109.99
This 8 year old Caol Ila is from a marriage of 6 ex-Bourbon Barrel, bottled at 48%.
G&M Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila 2007
$227.99
Distilled in 2007 this 15 year old Caol Ila was matured in a First Fill Sherry Butt before bottling at 59.1%.