Here’s one of the recent bottlings from The Whisky Jury, a single cask Caol Ila 2008, considerably younger than the previous expression from this distillery.
I’m afraid this went fast (again)…
Caol Ila 11 yo 2008 (53,1%, The Whisky Jury 2020, bourbon hogshead, 280 btl.)
Nose: a combination of fresh linen, lots of cold ashes, apple peelings, sea spray and oysters. Fresh lemons, hints of sweet pear in the background. A light minty and antiseptic note. Such precision really.
Mouth: starts with the kind of sharpness that you get in young Port Ellen (brine, lemons, tense earthy notes) mixed with rounder fruitiness (sweeter lemon, mandarin). Touches of salted almonds. Soft honey. Then back to kippers, diesel and kelp. Always with this slightly green, ashy style of peat. A vivid, youthful spirit but certainly not underage.
Finish: long, with clean peat, a hint of lime, pepper and brine.
As pure as they get: simply a great distillate and a good selection. Originally around € 95 but as I said, we’re too late for this one. You might want to keep an eye out on upcoming releases. Check The Whisky Jury for retailers.