Caol Ila - Distillers edition

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This bottle I bought because I wanted something a little different from my Speyside and Lowland malts. Purchased form Gordon and MacPhail in Elgin on 29/12/21, so a purchase to see in the new year. 

It has a sweet smokiness to start with. I have to say it reminded me of crisp maple cured bacon. That won't be on many tasting notes I should think. The peat is there - as aroma and taste. smoky rather than full sod, almost as if it takes the charring of the barrel more than the water. 

Overall a mild finish rather than full on. Quite drinkable, especially after a meal and indeed a bbq rather  a roast. 

Weirdly I also get "red"...don't know why - perhaps a touch of synesthesia on my part. 

So that's my impression. What do the tasting notes say....

Annoyingly the distillery website was down. But the tasting notes on whiskybase.com are interesting 

Guess I wasn't far off the mark, or at least on the same page as that fellow. A few pages suggested "overwhelming" as one of the descriptions, that certainly is not the case. Finished in Moscatel casks which accounts for the softening and fruitiness, and probably the "red" note I tasted!

My own bottle was distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2020. 




Very nice and drinkable.



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