Caol Ila 2014

Posted 24 November 2021 by Matt / In Caol Ila
The Dramble reviews The Whisky Exchange Caol Ila 2014 7 year old

Bottle Name: Caol Ila 2014

ABV: 59.1%
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: The Whisky Exchange
Region: Islay Age: 7
Glass Weight: 489g

The first of two Caol Ila releases in the latest batch of TWE single casks. This one – the younger of the two has spent its mere 7 years inside a single ex-bourbon hogshead before being bottled at 59.1% ABV. Still available directly from The Whisky Exchange for £62.95.

Nose: Mineral with seawater washed limestone. Citric with freshly squeezed lemons and asides of lime. Medicinal with bandages and antiseptic. A fairly typical profile for young Caol Ila. But there’s a little more under the hood here with pine needles, log fires and a roast dinner like quality – complete with all the trimmings. Dilution offers ozone and burnt key lime pie together with an alluvial quality of putties and clays.

Taste: Particularly chiselled with rockiness and minerality from the get-go. Beach sand, shingle and hewn granite. Lemon gel and lime pickle heat follow, before floor cleaner, tinctures and balms reinforce the medicinal profile once more. In the background, shaved chocolate and residual notes of the meaty quality detectable on the nose. The addition of water presents a far lighter profile with apple and lemon gel bringing sweeter asides which temper out the rocky heart of this whisky.

Finish: Long on lingering medicinal peat, citrus and minerality.

A very Caol Ila Caol Ila which not only ticks the triptych of expected aromas and flavours – but it also delivers them by the shovel load. Straight-forward stuff and no real complaints here – it takes quite a lot of heavy-handedness to mess up this distillate.

Review sample provided by The Whisky Exchange

Score: 84/100


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