[WHISKY TASTING] Caol Ila 12 yo - Still one of the best 'bang-for-the-buck' whiskies around 💧

steemswede (70)in #whisky • 8 years ago (edited)

Caol Ila is Gaelic and basically translates to the Strait of Islay and should be pronounced col eela. It's the first distillery you encounter on the road if you come with the ferry from the mainland and start in Port Askaig (if you go north that is). Caol Ila is just a few hundred meters further up the beach towards the strait between Islay and Jura. By car you have to follow meandering, at times single-lane road to get to the distillery's reception center.

Caol Ila was founded by Hector Henderson in 1846, but quickly changed owners in 1854 due to poor management. The distillery was instead taken over by the then owner of the Isle of Jura distillery, Norman Buchanan. Caol Ila was an instant success and 30 years later they built a pier where larger steamships could land to unload barley, barrels and other necessities. The demand from the blended industry meant that Caol Ila produced around 700000 liters per year. In the years 1930, 1937 and during the war the distillery was closed due to the restrictions on barley. The increasing demand and Caol Ilas rather small capacity forced the owners to close the distillery again during 1972-1974 to modernize the production. A completely rebuilt distillery was completed in 1974 and it now had six boilers instead of two. They now also began to buy their grain from Port Ellen Maltings, instead of malting the barley themselves.

Caol Ila has since its opening been under several ownership constellations - Bulloch Lade & Co., Caol Ila Distillery Company Ltd., Distillers Company and Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd - and today it's owned by the gigantic Diageo company. Caol Ila is one of the components in several blended whisky's, including Johnnie Walker, which is also a brand owned by Diageo.

Diageo generally use spirit caramel and chill-filtering in their releases. Caol Ila has historically been a quite lightly spirited color, and has therefore not been as severely affected as for instance the Speyside distilleries that Diageo owns. Caol Ila is still usually rather pale.

The water is taken from a local source, Loch Nam Ban, which is very rich in limestone. The barley is peated at the Port Ellen Maltings at about 30-40 ppm in phenols. You can read more about the process of achieving peat-smoke in this great article: Peat and its significance. After the latest expansions in 2011, the distillery is now able to produce 6.5 million liters per year. If you ever visit the distillery don't miss the stunning view from the boiler room over the Sound of Islay towards the neighboring Isle of Jura.

Caol Ila 12 Year Old

Age: 12 yo
ABV: 43%
Phenol level: ~35 ppm
Region: Islay
Price: ~35-40 USD

👁 Appearance: White wine

🐽 Nose: Sweet vanilla with oranges and dark chocolate, and a somewhat restrained peat smoke. Like setting fire to green grass. There's also the classic fresh seaweed and iodine breeze that you usually have in Islay whiskies.

👅 Palate: The sweetness is the first thing that asserts itself, but without making the whisky intrusively sugary. Then a mellow cloud of peat ascends and emits an intense rain of pepper that tingles the tongue. The orange notes from the nose are also there, together with marzipan, honey, grass and salty notes of olives, oysters and seaweed. The peppery notes brings to mind arugula or something of the kind. The body is extremely oily, which you not only feel in the mouth, but can see if you tip the glass slightly and allow the liquid to slide down the inside of the glass.

🏁 Finish: The medium-long finish is nearly perfect. Just enough sweetness, salt, smoke and pepper. The slightly dry oak notes never take the upper hand due to the grassy sweetness.

💡 Conclusion: This fresh and clean classis has the perfect balance between coastal peat-smoke and zesty fruitiness, and is still one of the greatest bargains. Its drinkability makes for a fitting introduction to Islay whisky, and a great everyday whisky. Definitely worth 89 points in my book.

If you have any whisky related questions don't be afraid of asking! I'll do my best to answer them. Cheers, or as they say in Scotland: Sláinte!

— SteemSwede

Sources:
Jackson, M., (2008) Scotland and Its Whiskies: The Great Whiskies and Their Landscapes, Houghton
Wilson, N., (2011) Island Whisky Trail: Scotland's Hebridean and West Coast Malt Whisky Distilleries, Interlink