Caol Ila 13 Year Old Discovery

As the name suggests, this series from Gordon & Macphail is meant to offer the different styles of malt that can be discovered from the Promsied Land. In the glass I have a Caol Ila that matured for 13 years on a bourbon cask, albeit cut to 43%. Soft nose on lime, kiwi and nectarines with a good dose of vanilla, hint of smoked bacon, a soft salty note and some peat smoke. It even has a bit of a floral note. I quite like this profile. The body is somewhat light. Now I get some citrus fruit, but also melon and nectarines. The kiwi from the nose has made room for something that reminds me of pineapple. Strangely enough vanilla icecream appears in my mind’s eye. This is upholstered with some almonds. The spices are white pepper, salt and liquorice. The smoke development is surprisingly small. The finish is rather short, but pleasantly smoky. This is something of a baby Caol Ila, tob e honest. Very accessible and a fine introduction to the style. In that sense, it’s the perfect malt to be bottled under the Discovery label.

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