Whisky : Caol Ila 8 Year; Lady of the Glen

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 57%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Amarone Veneta Botti Finish

Age : 8 Years (Distilled 21 May 2011, Bottled 23 July 2019)

Nose : Bursting with fruits and nuts with just a hint of salty maritime coming through— candied nuts, caramel popcorn, and Bananas Foster.  Candy store notes of artificial banana and bursting purple grape pop-rocks.

Palate :  Fruity and exceptionally sweet with a medium, slightly dry, body.  Loads of sweet rum and fruit notes— bananas, dried tropical fruits, raisins, and salt— almost like a fruity margarita.  Sweet rich dessert notes come through as anko/red bean paste and caramelized candy multicolor popcorn.  A bit of sweet wood char and dried tobacco arrives near the end as the wine driven tannic astringency builds.

Finish : Lingering fruit and candy.

Score : 4

Mental Image : Tootie Fruitie.

Something Similar : Ardbeg Drum (similar red bean/banana, more bbq notes)

Something Similar : Bruichladdich 15 Year; Valinch & Mallet (similar fruity popcorn)

Notes : That crashing sound you heard was the Amarone bus running over poor Caol Ila.  The wine influence on this totally dominated the more subtle Caol Ila— very little of the citrus and maritime influence characteristic of the distillery came through.  It popped up here and there in the salty-citrus margarita notes, but the dry fruity profile of the wine subsumed it.  Ultimately, I felt the wine influence was much too strong and left this Caol Ila feeling one note and overly sweet.  There were some charred wood undertones that kept it from being cloying, but the sticky artificial fruit candy dominated the palate.

I tasted this with members of our local whisky group as part of a ‘peat pack’ take home tasting kit.  This ranked bottom of the list for every single participant— there seemed to be little debate.  I really enjoyed the Arran Amarone finish, I thought the fruity malt and cask worked very well together, this unfortunately did not work.