Another Coal Ila from Dewar Rattray (now A.D. Rattray to avoid confusion with the other Dewar) but from a long time ago. This Caol Ila 1984 was bottled for The Nectar, their Belgian importer at that time.

When I started collecting whisky, this was a must-have bottle, certainly after it won a silver medal at the 2006 Malt Maniacs Awards.

Caol Ila 21 yo 1984 (58,5%, Dewar Rattray
for The Nectar 2006, bourbon cask #6266,
251 btl.)

Nose: moderately peaty with sweet lemon juice, candied zest and vanilla. Some dried hay and liquorice. Nice balance of pastry notes (butter cake) and drier hints of limestone, minerals and seafood. There’s a great farmy side to it as well, which grows stronger with a few drops of water. Quite rounded and gentle but very complex. Mouth: oily and mouth-coating. A much bigger peatiness now. Bread crust. Caramelized apples. Becomes drier and spicy in the end. Finish: very long, sweet with peat and coastal hints.

One of the best Caol Ila I’ve had. I feel lucky to have secured a bottle back then. Around € 110 but probably impossible to find now, except in auctions.

Score: 91/100