Caol Ila 25

Description

Sweet, smooth and lightly smoky, Caol Ila 25 has an elegant profile that brings to mind the faint yet resolute outline of the distillery itself. Silhouetted in the soft moonlight of a still winter’s night.
A distillery has stood here at remote Caol Ila for more than 160 years, where sublime Malt Whisky is made in a secret cove by the Sound of Islay. Coal-fired ‘puffers’ like the SS Pibroch would call at the pier, bringing empty casks and taking full ones away to market.

This smoky old Caol Ila likewise recalls living cutting peat on the island.
Few do so today. But the old traditions live on in the skills of our distillery workers. In the ingredients they still use at the Caol Ila distillery.

Each expression of Caol Ila reflects a special quality of the light at this remote Islay distillery: together, they picture a day in its secret cove on the Sound of Islay. Elegant and finely balanced. Caol Ila 25 could be enjoyed at still winter’s nights.
Fuller-bodied and more controlled than younger expressions, it yet remains true to a Caol Ila character firsrt seen in 1816. Here are those same spicy sea-air aromas and sweet smoky dry flavours. Expressed with a subtlety that comes only with age.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Unreduced, sweet-spicy, fresh sea-air notes. Hints of preserved fruit, perhaps. Adding a little water brings up subtle, fragrant polished wood.

Palate: Unreduced, immediately sweet and fruity with a balancing bitterness. As befits its age, Caol Ila’s trademark smoky-medicinal character is controlled rather than exuberant. A good mouthfeel complemented by a complex flavour.

Finish: Quite long, sweetly drying, with more smoke coming through. Pleasant aftertaste.

Awards for Caol Ila 25

• Silver – 2007 – San Francisco World Spirits Competition
• Best Single Malt Islay – 2011 – World Whiskies Awards

What some of our whisky enthusiast friends have said about Caol Ila 25

Quote 1  “A rounded and mature affair. The 25 years in oak has made it a bit more refined (and drier on the palate) compared to younger expressions. All the classic Caol Ila notes are stillthere-mustard, seaweed, olives, damp peat, salt and pepper. A touch of vanilla wafer, anise, smoked almonds, and tarry rope add complexity.

Quote 2  “Great lemons and sweet smoke, water brings some liquorice. So very very quaffable. So glad I got mine for a bargain because it will be finished so quickly. ”

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