It’s been almost a year since I reviewed some bottlings from Cut Your Wolf Loose, but here goes. Two of them are rarely seen in the market: a rather old Miltonduff and a younger Tamnavulin with a Moscatel finish. The third one is a middle-aged Caol Ila, but we know these can be really good.
Miltonduff 22 yo 2002 (50,7%, Cut Your Wolf Loose, refill bourbon hogshead, 138 btl.)
Nose: waxy oranges, hints of apples, dried flower petals and light honey. Then hints of old fabrics, mild grain biscuit sweetness and subtle hints of dried herbs. Some vegetal oils. All very gentle and really un-modern, nice.
Mouth: green fruits, like stewed apples and poached pears, with a mild bitter (old-school) side of lemon zest and grapefruit. This is balanced by honeyed notes, sweet herbs and hay. Then also plenty of cereal notes, along with some white pepper tingle.
Finish: long, fairly grainy, with mild baking spice and hints of marmalade.
An interesting release, mature and zesty at the same time. It’s a rather shy whisky at times, certainly not a wham-bam whisky in any way. Then again it offers plenty of small nuances that are not that common in modern whisky. Refill casks, hooray. Available from CYWL or from retailers like TyndrumWhisky.
Tamnavulin 13 yo 2011 (51,2%, Cut Your Wolf Loose, Moscatel Port pipe finish, 470 btl.)
Nose: peach sweetness up front, with citrus candy and hints of mirabelles tartlets. Then marmalade on toast and orange cake. Subtle raisins, but also light chalky touches and whiffs of baking spice underneath.
Mouth: the Moscatel stands out. Plenty of jammy sweetness, along with the typical jasmine and orange notes, raisins and hints of caramel. Plenty of honey and orange candy, along with some heavily sweetened Earl Grey. Later a spicy undertone, mainly nutmeg.
Finish: medium long, still on oranges, with candied ginger and sweet oak.
I don’t think ‘Moscatel Port’ is actually a thing. Moscatel is a fortified wine with its own D.O.s (the most famous one in Setúbal) and while some of if is also made in the Douro valley, it should be named Moscatel do Douro and not Port. A similar mistake to Teeling’s mentions of Carcavelos White Port. Anyhow, the Muscat leaves a big footprint, with plenty of dessert-like sweetness and a floral edge. Easy to drink whisky, goodf fun. Available from CYWL or Tyndrum. Score: 85/100
Caol Ila 17 yo 2007 (49%, Cut Your Wolf Loose 2024, refill bourbon hogshead, 285 btl.)
Nose: pristine vegetal and maritime peat. Sea breezes, lemons, bonfires on the beach and hints of oysters. The lemony notes get slightly candied, but otherwise this is very clean. Then also ashes, hints of paing and a bit of mint. Excellent.
Mouth: still very pure Caol Ila. Peppery peat, lots of cold ashes, oysters and seawater, as well as some resinous notes and subtle medicinal things. Then bitter almond, more lemon (peels) and a drop of menthol. Salinity is running throughout.
Finish: quite long, with smouldering fire, some herbal notes and lemons, of course.
A classic Caol Ila without any make-up, simply full of confidence. No further words needed, except that it seems to be sold out. Score: 89/100