Bought: SMWS, 30th October 2015
Ratings:
90/100 – Whiskybase (from 1 member vote)
SMWS name: Jekyll & Hyde
Up until a few days ago there was no rating on Whiskybase for this Caol Ila but thankfully someone came to my rescue with a stunning 90/100. The tasting notes on the bottle read “honey glazed ham and boozy grilled pineapple. The taste is an explosion of peat smoke and brown sauce served with fish and chips. With water, smoked scallops and a peat smoked pineapple soufflé.” Sounds lovely!
Although Jim Murray doesn’t mention this exact Caol Ila 19yo in his Whisky Bible 2016 he does include 9 bottlings by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) including four 18-year-olds. This is a similar maturity to my 19yo sample and their scores range from 85.5/100 to 91/100, which is excellent news. Of the 9 bottles the lowest mark is 81/100, which is still “good whisky worth trying” according to the book’s score chart. This might not seem 100% relevant since every whisky is different but it lets me know that those within the SMWS that taste and select Caol Ila casks for bottling are consistently good in the eyes of Mr Murray.
I’ve yet to taste a bad Caol Ila and this sample isn’t likely to change that fact. Now, where’s my glass…..
Whisky Den 