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Cask Strength Caol Ila 1998 (Gordon & Macphail)

A ruined fruitcake

2 271

@GeorgyReview by @Georgy

13th Feb 2017

1

Cask Strength Caol Ila 1998 (Gordon & Macphail)
  • Nose
    19
  • Taste
    18
  • Finish
    17
  • Balance
    17
  • Overall
    71

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

This was an interesting experience, since you don't get sherried Caol Ila from their official bottling, if I am not mistaken. However, I believe there is a good reason why they don't have such things in their official line of products. And that reason is simple: it just doesn't work!. Here's why...

NOSE: sweet, brown sugar, and very big and very smoky aromas (think bacon, smoked paprika, smoked processed foods such as potato chips), some peat (not a lot), leather, preserved cherries.

TASTE: slightly metallic, very tannin-rich sweetness with that big explosion of bacon kicking right in. Bacon jam?

FINISH: short with the same combination of flavors.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: unfortunately, this marriage hasn't been successful, in my opinion. The balance is totally out of whack. All of the flavors are disjointed.

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2 comments

@Alexsweden
Alexsweden commented

Bacon jam sounds good to me! Seems that these heavily influenced smokers are love it or hate it outings.

7 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Georgy
Georgy commented

@Alexsweden Yeah. It's just that sometimes sherry and peat-smoke don't really marry well. They live their separate lives with no common ground. Ardbeg has been doing a great job of marrying sherry and their peat. It can be nicely balanced. But here...it's really like you're biting into a speyside fruitcake and then you notice that it's just full of crispy bacon bits. It is interesting...but I'd rather have those in two separate courses ))

7 years ago 0