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Caol Ila 12 Year Old for Feis Ile 2017

Cream Sherry

2 089

@markjedi1Review by @markjedi1

17th May 2020

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  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Overall
    89

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I have tried many a good dram from Caol Ila, but the Feis Ile releases are always excellent. So I was very happy to score a sample of this 12 years old for the Islay Malt & Music Festival 2017. It is so-called double matured in Amoroso casks, that were previously used for the Distillers Edition of… Talisker! This Caol Ila matured for 11 years in bourbon casks before being transferred to rejuvenated (new heads) Amoroso casks in which they spent another year.

Wonderfully creamy nose on sweet caramel, smoked bacon and seaweed, upholstered with pine nuts, varnish and tar with a lovely note of pear and lime. Goes back and forth between sweet and salt, but in a very entertaining way. Soft smokiness, mildly medicinal but mostly sweet and fruity. Well balanced.

It’s quite creamy on the palate as well. The cream sherry – which is the Amoroso of course – has clearly had it’s influence. Feisty on pepper with lots of maritime, salty notes too, while the peat smoke becomes quite grand. Nevertheless the sweet notes of caramel and the fruit shine through beautifully and give this Caol Ila extra shine. Quite impressive.

The finish is long, dark and sweet (chocolate!) and peppery. The smoke fades slowly.

What an impressive Caol Ila!

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