Caol Ila 9 Year Old 2009 The Single Malts of Scotland

The bottler behind The Single Malts of Scotland is Elexir Distillers – formerly Specialty Drinks – that also owns The Whisky Exchange and is currently building a distillery on Islay. Anyway, we were able to get our hands of a very recent release of yet another very young Caol Ila. I never pass up a chance to try this sort of malt.

The nose is surprisingly fruity and very little coastal. The peat is there, as is a note of rocky coast, but still it is dominated mostly by sweet notes of apricots, banana liqueur (really!) and Werther’s Original. Some peat, leather and tobacco in the background. Marzipan appears after a few minutes. Surprising but very pleasant at the same time.

Soft body, yet sturdy arrival. That has everything to do with the ABV, obviously. Chili pepper and liquorice precede the sweet fruit. Again some yellow fruit, but midpalate that is totally overpowered by beautiful salty notes. Some caramel and honey try to get it back on the sweet track, but no such luck. This becomes a grand, salty and peaty Caol Ila – a nice evolution. Toasted oak completes the picture.

The finish is very long, spicy, warm and salty until the death.

Well, fort his kind of quality, I do not mind handing over 75 EUR. Still available. Recommended.

Find where to buy Caol Ila whisky