Caol Ila 12 Year Old 1996 QV.ID

As you probably know, Caol Ila is my favourite Islay distillery. I have yet to try a Caol Ila that I did not like. I found an older sample in my cabinet from the Belgian bottler QV.ID, a Coal Ila from 1996, bottled in 2009. Let us see how this pale Ileach fares.

The nose starts pretty closed. You need to give it some time to discover the very soft and accessible traits. A truckload of vanilla and citrus with just a tad of sweet peat and even less salt. Some coconut in the mix. Slightly medicinal. Must be one of the sweetest Coal Ila I have sniffed so far. Not does not mean its bad, mind.

It is slightly creamy on the palate and again surprisingly soft and sweet. But then the ashes kick in in full force. This is truly fifty-fifty sweet versus salt and eminently quaffable. Lots more citrus now, as well as a bit of smoke.

The medium long finish lingers on citrus and smoke.

This is a rather straightforward Caol Ila. The card players version, eh? Sweet lemonade. Used to be around 40 EUR, but is now long gone. Yeah, well, good stuff like this does not stay on the shelves very long.

Find where to buy Caol Ila whisky