Caol Ila 10 Years Old First Cask 56.2% 2011

Professional reviews

Malt Fascination (87)

Sniff:
Some earthy peat, with bonfire smoke. Woody charcoal, a whiff of heather. A minor wine like note, somehow, with fruity sweetness. Tangerine, a bit of vanilla, coconut husk, hessian.

Sip:
Even though it’s a cask strength whisky, the arrival takes a bit of time to build up. It has some heat like white pepper has, with dry oak and sweet pastry notes. Herbs and spices, hessian, and a bit of sweet citrus like tangerine here too.

Swallow:
The finish shows more phenolic notes. More smoke and bonfire notes. Not overly coastal, with some heather and oak. A warming and rather long finish.

This is a very solid young Islay whisky, but it somehow takes me back to the first Caol Ila I ever bought, the 18 year old, with a similar sweet and earthy note. I genuinly like this, and it makes for a bit more sentiment than normal in my ratings.

When I remove this sudden wave of nostalgia, what’s left is a very decent Caol Ila, not too predictable while also not defying its provenance. It’s very much an Islay whisky, but it’s not all salt and brine and smoke. I’m positively surprised!

BOW (87)

Nose: The nose has a pleasant fresh maritime influence; sweet peat, orange peel and cigar smoke. Evolving into fruit with dark vanilla and smoke from a steak in the pan.
Taste: Beautifully balanced. Oranges, salty sea influences and a delicious peat smoke. Grass silage with spicy herbs and salted macadamia nuts.
Finish: The finish is packed with pepper and beautiful peat smoke.