Caol Ila 1979 (Malts of Scotland)

Sometimes a very nice sample simply doesn’t make it on the website. Because it gets lost at the bottom of a box, or because other blogs happen to write about it at the same time. And then, a couple of years later, it turns up again…

Here’s a Caol Ila 1979 bottled by Malts of Scotland that I should have tried way back in 2012, when I could still buy a bottle.

Caol Ila 33 yo 1979 (52,3%, Malts of Scotland 2012, bourbon hogshead, MoS 12022, 280 btl.)

Nose: reminds me of the 1979 from Maltbarn. It’s more powerful than some other 1979 casks. More medicinal notes, grasses, tar and camphor. Really sooty and coastal. Old leather and eucalyptus. In the background enough almonds, warm ashes and hay to keep it balanced and elegant.

Mouth: oily / waxy texture, antiseptics and iodine again, tarry notes and liquorice. Seaweed. Then grapefruit and walnuts. Ink. A pepper and lemon combo too. Lovely complexity.

Finish: very long, sooty and dry with some lemon zest.

A very nice version of Caol Ila, with some Laphroaig-style medicinal notes mixed in. Punchy yet very rewarding. You can bottle this kind of dram at the age of 50, no doubt. Originally around € 200.

Score: 91/100