Caol Ila 25 Year Old 1983 Bladnoch Forum

A Caol Ila of a quarter century old! For an official bottling, you’d have to give up your left kidney, but this one used to be available from the Bladnoch Forum for a very fair price. It was only 150 EUR way back in 2008. Ah, the good old (?) days.

Wonderful! Hurray! I’ve only just put my nose in the glass and the party is already started! I am overcome by a soft, sweet and mildly peaty aroma on citrus in all is regalia (lime, lemon, pomelo, grapefruit, yuzu), a lovely floral hint with sweet malt, soft sea breeze and minimalistic smoke development. For a moment it even reminds me a bit of a wonderful and very masculine after shave! I’m not kidding, this is delicious.

On the palate appears the Holy Trinity of lemon, sugar and salt. Let’s make that sugared lemon peel, nicely wrapped in a smoky jacket that starts off soft but becomes quite grand, only to soften up again midpalate and put the citrus fruit back in the spotlight. Complex? No, not really. Good? Hell, yeah!

Wonderfully long finish on more of the same.

Admittedly, this is a rather straightforward Caol Ila, but it’s so good that I could care less. This is heavenly!

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