Six Takes on Islay’s Largest Distillery | Various ABV

They say it’s hard to screw up a Caol Ila

It was the peat smoke that grabbed me. And I’m not alone.

When I took my first steps into whisky, rather than the gentler drams, often seen as the approachable way to get started, it was the smokey stuff.

Ainsley had a similar epiphany with Ardbeg 10yo and put it perfectly in his recent Hazelburn 10 review when he said it tasted of something else other than just “whisky”. That’s exactly how it was for me. I needed that slap in the face and the “What the hell is this?!” moment. The gates into whisky were unlocked by Laphroaig 10yo and Lagavulin 16yo.

I’ve talked about my starting point before, but I think it is important for context in this review, particularly when considering the first of the six whiskies I am reviewing here was another early discovery for me during that peat only phase. When I decided to look in the supermarket for other whiskies that would provide me with the same smoky experience Laphy and Laga did, Caol Ila 12 was one of the few bottles available. I didn’t drink a lot of whisky in those early days, whisky was very much a mood moment back then, but those were three bottles I would have had to hand when I fancied a dram.

These three malts have since fallen out of favour in my ever expanding collection. Laphroaig 10yo is not a bad whisky, but if you ever tried bottles from the 90’s or earlier you couldn’t fail to notice the drop off in quality. Quarter Cask is fine, but look for earlier mid-2000s bottles from auction while the prices are still accessible, as they are far superior. They’re easily distinguishable as they are the ones with the picture of a pair of casks on the front label. If you’re buying at retail you are better off spending the extra for the 10 year old cask strength.

Lagavulin 16yo was abandoned by me and many others as soon as Diageo did one of their abrupt price hikes, as they tend to do from time to time, although over time the price is starting to look a little less top heavy in the context of other malts of similar ages. Compared to the ridiculous Ardbeg 17 they’re almost giving it away. It might return to my shopping list one day, but we aren’t quick to forgive such cynicism.

Instead of those whiskies, I call upon the likes of Ardbeg 10yo, Ledaig 10yo or Kilkerran Heavily Peated when I want my affordable-but-quality, powerful-peat-punch from distillery core ranges. However, it has been independently bottled Caol Ila that has really caught my attention and has its own ever-growing corner in my whisky space. As things stand we have endless possibilities from a variety of casks in which to explore the distillery. Most of the Islay distilleries and even Ledaig, produced at Tobermory over on the Island of Mull, are much more scarce from independent bottlers, and usually more expensive when they do appear, but Caol Ila is often well priced and plentiful; not to mention delicious.

Ardmore and Highland Park would be the only other peated whiskies I can think of that compete with it in terms of availability from indies at affordable prices, and although both can be very good, neither quite match the powerful impact of Caol Ila.

There have been rumours in recent years of Diageo ceasing to provide Caol Ila to the open market, but I have never heard anything concrete on this from a reliable source, and as things stand there is plenty of it about. No need to panic buy that’s for sure.

One thing I have noticed about Caol Ila is how wildly all over the place the prices are for bottles from independent bottlers. I’m not sure if some are overpaying for their casks or just trying it on, but I’ve seen plenty of young Caol Ila’s for north of £100, which is ludicrous. As you can see from the prices paid for this line-up, you needn’t bother with anything overpriced.

When I think of the kind of notes I typically find in many a Caol Ila, it is an icing sugar sweetness, woodsmoke, iodine, first aid kit, dirty notes of oily mechanics overalls, coal and coal tar, with a flinty minerality, brine, citrus fruit, pear and a meatiness that can bring a fantastic smoked bacon note, that is often amplified when any sort of sherry or wine cask is used.

It’s up for a fight with any type of cask you put it in. The spirit will come out all guns blazing and produce something anywhere between good and amazing. I would confidently say I am yet to try a Caol Ila I would rate below a Dramface score of six. I’m sure they are out there, but I’ve not stumbled across one. It’s the ultimate in buyer confidence knowing that I am unlikely to be disappointed. Not many distilleries can do that.

You will find a lot of crossover with the tasting notes on a number of these. I could try and find different ways of saying the same thing just to avoid repetition, but I think it’s best to keep things simple. I am going to go through these in ascending ABV order, which seems as good an order as any.

Review 1/6

Caol Ila 12yo, Official release, Bottle code L4069CM00600003196, 43% ABV
£40 paid, still widely available at around £50

Despite not having this on the shelf for a few years, when I decided to put together a collection of Caol Ila’s for review, it made sense to buy a bottle and see how it compared with the indies as a base point.

I had a quick look at the auction sites to see how much old bottles of Caol Ila 12 go for these days and was surprised to find that the 12 year old was launched as recently as 2002. It feels like one of those malts that must have been around for decades. Diageo are unsurpassed when it comes to classy and timeless labels.

It is bottled at 43%, highly likely to be chill filtered as a result and possibly with a dash of colour, but its pale appearance suggests either none or very little. The long and hard-to-read batch number on the bottle is included above for completeness.

Nose

A lovely salty honey glazed smoked bacon aroma, with coastal sea breeze, ashen smoke, oily rags, tobacco, dried sage, green apple skins and lemon zest.

Palate

Icing sugar up front, with smoked, salty bacon, mechanical oil, dry grassiness, wood and coal smoke, dark chocolate and espresso coffee that becomes creamy like a latte. There’s also fisherman’s friends, sticking plasters and warming fresh ginger. It’s quite drying and sucks the moisture from your palate, leaving you wanting more to replenish it. In the finish it is increasingly ashen, with liquorice, pithy lemon and cream. Plenty going on here.

The Dregs

What a pleasant surprise it has been to rediscover this whisky. I expected this to be underpowered and lacking the quality of the higher strength and non-chill filtered bottles, but it is excellent. There’s lots going on and it feels so poised, balanced and wonderfully put together. At 43% it is also dangerously drinkable!

Score: 7/10

Review 2/6

Caol Ila 11yo, Signatory Vintage Un-chillfiltered series, 46% ABV
£41 paid, occasionally available

Like everything in this range, it is non-chill filtered, natural colour and 46%. This one was distilled in June 2012 and bottled in July 2023 and is a fairly sizable batch of five ex-bourbon hogsheads numbered 317367/-70/-71/-72/-75, producing 1310 bottles. I paid £41 and can’t find any more stock out there, but with such a large out-turn there is every chance bottles remain available in a few spots.

Nose

Very lemony sharp – juice and zest, with a hint of orange and vanilla. An aroma reminiscent of a grassy farmers field that’s just seen a muck spreader, along with first aid kits, rubber boot, light wood smoke and fresh sage. A little fruitier than your usual Caol Ila nose and the smoke is not jumping from the glass.

Palate

Bright and fruity with sweet apple and lemon, quickly followed by powerfully ashen wood smoke, liquorice root, icing sugar, peppery spice and charred oak. The ashen wood smoke then turns toward tobacco smoke, petrol, aniseed, mint imperials and vanilla. It finishes with lingering spent ashes, vanilla, aniseed and mint.

The Dregs

A lovely whisky with a level of fruitiness I don’t always find in a bourbon cask Caol Ila. For the price paid I am very happy indeed, but it isn’t quite as good as the beautifully balanced standard twelve year old. I almost feel bad scoring it a six, but it’s a high one.

Score: 6/10

Review 3/6

Caol Ila 8yo, North Star Spirits Series 023, 56.7% ABV
£58 paid, secondary only

This one was matured in a refill ex-solera sherry hogshead (it doesn’t say if it was oloroso, PX or an other) and bottled at 56.7%. It retailed for £58 and was one of 225 bottles. Sadly it appears to be sold out everywhere.

Nose

A big bold bruiser of a dram. Rich and dark boozy raisins, green apple skins, dates, prunes and flat cola, along with brown sugar, leather, spent tobacco ashes and chocolate. There are hot tarmac and engine oil aromas - specifically lifting the bonnet of the car while it is still warm, along with tobacco, crunchy brown autumnal leaves and punchy wood smoke.

Palate

It doesn’t get any less bold on the palate either. Apple and blackcurrant concentrate, raisins and molasses, with dark chocolate, leather, tobacco and wood smoke, which becomes more ashen as it develops. Amongst the ashes I’m also getting strawberry laces and creamy salted caramel. The mechanical oil elements are there too with peppery spice fighting for attention. A drop of water dials that down, but it drinks really well at full strength. Bold is an understatement with this whisky and it’s one of the boldest flavour impacts I can remember experiencing. The expected ashen finish is here, with creamy highland toffee and a delicious salted peanuts note. If a whisky could kick you in the face then this is the one to do it.

The Dregs

Unbelievably good. I am sticking with the eight here, but it would be a high one. The nose is very good, but the palate is fabulous. Peated whisky and sherry casks just does things and this solera cask has done a particularly fine job. I would never have guessed this was a refill cask judging from the colour and the flavour impact it has imparted. I want another bottle, but it’s sadly all gone. As Barney said in The Simpsons; Just hook it to my veins.

Score: 8/10

Review 4/6

Caol Ila 14yo, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Series, 57.1% ABV
£68 paid, secondary only

We have a bit of age here and I am expecting a bit more elegance and less impact from the peat smoke than we are getting from the younger ones. It is from a single bourbon hogshead cask number 322862 distilled in December 2009 and bottled in December 2023. It is of course non-chill filtered, natural colour and 57.1%. I paid £68, but I think retail was around £80. Unfortunately it is another that I can’t see in stock anywhere.

Nose

Herbal, grassy and medicinal with sharp lemon, first aid kit and prominent coal tar and WD-40 mechanical oil aromas. There’s plenty of icing and barley sugar sweetness, with sea spray, wood smoke and rubber boot.

Palate

Sweet vanilla and powerful wood smoke that becomes ashen almost immediately, followed by sour lemon juice, sweet orange and dried sage. I get quite a bit of what comes across as cask char and it adds a beautiful coffee-chocolate note, followed by thick tobacco smoke that begins to assert, with blackjack chews, peppery spice and coal tar poking through. The finish is long, creamy, ashen and herbal.

The Dregs

This has everything you would expect from a Caol Ila, with an ashen smoke that trumps all of these I am reviewing today in terms of its power and persistence. To use an outdated phrase, it stays longer than the mother-in-law.

Score: 7/10

Review 5/6

Caol Ila 5yo, Murray McDavid Benchmark Series, Justino’s Madeira Cask Finish, 58.1% ABV
£55 paid, still available

Murray McDavid appears to have released a couple of these Madeira finished Caol Ila’s. This one does not have a cask number, but is one of 327 bottles distilled in 2018 and bottled in 2023 at 58.1% with no chill filtration or colour added.

I paid around £55 and a quick google suggests there is still a bottle or two out there at time of writing for roughly that price.

Nose

Bold and brash. Smoky bacon crisps, toffee and burnt rubber immediately leap from the glass, along with garden leaf fire smoke and charcoal. Strawberry jam, blackberries and cherry cola provide an intense sweet fruitiness, with rosemary and sage bringing a herbal aroma.

Palate

The jammy fruitiness is what hits you in the first few seconds. It’s a mix of apple, blackcurrant and cherry. It is followed by big bold smoke, which becomes increasingly ashen. The jammy fruits never let up and return as the smoke softens and becomes more integrated. They are joined by black jack chews, peppery spice, leather, charcoal and deep, rich espresso coffee. The finish is creamy, smoky and fruity, with fresh herbs, first aid kits, liquorice, barbecued meats and salty bacon. It’s an absolute powerhouse.

The Dregs

I first tried this bottle when I selected it for a blind tasting having never tried it before. It was a big hit amongst the tasters with some giving it a maximum score of five out of five. In that fast paced tasting environment, the bold flavoured whiskies can often receive the best scores, but several months and many drams later, I am still loving this bottle of whisky. It’s fabulous.

Score: 8/10

Review 6/6

Caol Ila 8yo, Adelphi Selection, cask number 300371, 58.4% ABV
£40+ fees at auction

I picked this one up at auction earlier this year for £40 plus fees, which when taking into account shipping came to just under £60. Not exactly a bargain, but it did retail for £65-75 before it sold out. It is from a single refill ex-bourbon barrel, non-chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at 58.4%. With this being bottled back in 2021 it is no surprise that it is sold out now.

Nose

I’m getting heaps of apples here, in particular the peel, with caramelised banana and vanilla. I’m also detecting some light rubber, oily rags, creosote and light woodsmoke. This is a little less expressive than any of the others on the table today and the smoke isn’t leaping from my Glencairn, but it’s still a nice start.

Palate

It makes up for the nose on the palate, with sweet vanilla and impactful wood smoke that becomes ashen, but it is accompanied by the creamy vanilla note that hits from the off and never leaves. It’s like a smoky vanilla milkshake and I’m here for that. Note to self, vanilla milkshake with a shot of Caol Ila sounds like an excellent idea. The dried herbal elements are there as is a cool mint, fisherman’s friend losenges and a dry, dusty earthiness. The finish is a continuation of the smoke and cream, with bitter liquorice and oak that is nicely balanced by the cream.

The Dregs

That smoky vanilla milkshake more than makes up for what is a fairly quiet and placid nose. You don’t always need a million and one tasting notes when a couple of them are providing such an excellent experience. We’re not far from an eight here.

Score: 7/10

High scores all round and I still haven’t found a Caol Ila worthy of less than a six. 

The biggest surprise for me is just how good the core range Caol Ila 12yo is. I loved it years ago and assumed I may have outgrown its 43% chill filtered presentation, but it is excellent. I’m delighted to have rediscovered it and the fact I can often pick it up for around £40 a bottle on offer is even better.

It has taken me a long time to put together these tasting notes. I have been trying them individually for a number of months and a couple of times as a complete flight. What terrible nights those were. 

As is always the case, the notes I jotted down the first time didn’t change much. I need to learn to procrastinate less. As a result of that dawdling some of these appear to be sold out, but that’s not a problem because there are tons of excellent Caol Ila out there. Whatever you pick you’re unlikely to be let down by the experience.

There are two 8/10 scores, but the North Star bottle would be the pick of the bunch. It’s so big and it’s so bold, but it is still very Caol Ila. I also had a seven year old North Star from a refill sherry cask which was much lighter in colour than this one, but was also a very good whisky and I think if memory serves I paid £40. Drummond reviewed it and enjoyed it also.If North Star brings out any more Caol Ila as well priced as these have been then I am buying it. You don’t need to pay the prices some bottlers are asking.

After some time stuck on peat I eventually recognised the joy of quality unpeated malts and have been in a constant ebb and flow since, where for a period of time that will be my jam, before I suddenly pivot back to the heavy peat. If I am in a peat phase it can be all I want to drink and this line-up of drams are giving me plenty of satisfaction right now.

I would love Diageo to do a bit more with the core range. Everything is bottled at 43% and a well priced 12 year old cask strength edition would be great to engage us enthusiasts, but unlikely given the ownership. There was a NAS cask strength Fergus reviewed and loved, but sadly it has been taken away from us and consigned to folklore. Port Askaig cask strength does a good job of filling that gap, as did the 100 Proof before that.

Although currently sitting in twentieth spot overall, the distillery is well inside my ten picks for the Dramface Top 40, and I would say it is in the top three for sure. Depending on mood it could even be pushing for that top spot. Peat pulled me in and despite widening my net more recently, it has never let me go. Old habits die hard.

And so, after sipping through all of these, it would seem there’s truth in the belief that it is indeed hard to screw up a Caol Ila.

Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT

Other opinions on these:

Caol Ila 12yo OB:
Whiskybase
GWhisky (video)
McIntyre’s Malts (video)
Ralfy (video - 2017)

Signatory Vintage: Whiskybase

North Star: Whiskybase

Signatory Vintage Cask Strength: Whiskybase

Murray McDavid: Whiskybase

Adelphi: Whiskybase

Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.