Whisky : Caol Ila 10 Year SMWS 53.305 “Totally tropical smoke”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 59.8%

Cask : Refill Hogshead

Age : 10 Years (Distilled 1 Sept. 2008)

Nose : Creamy with grilled tropical fruits: grape fruit, grilled plantains, soursop juice, and Korean pear skins.  Charcoal grill smoke follows before tart lemon tea and blackened herbs— thyme and rosemary— come through.

Palate : Medium bodied and quite oily.  Tropical fruits and grilled chilis— blackened shishito peppers and charred hatch green chiles.  Sweet caramelized fruit sugars balanced against a faint oaky bitterness.  Background notes of spearmint, salt, and herbs combine with the roasted fruits and peppers to give the impression of a sizzling meaty fajita platter.

Finish :  Lingering sweet char and salt.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Peppers on the Grill

Something Better : Port Charlotte 8Y Ex-Rum; Dramfool (similar tropical fruit/bbq, more barnyard)

Something Worse : Ardbeg Drum Committee Release (similar plantain/fruits, thinner, less complex)

Notes : This was an absolutely beautiful Caol Ila.  I do not recall ever having one that was quite so fruity.  Lovely waves of grill smoke and tropical fruits carried this to a totally different place than the maritime and citrus that I usually associate with the distillery.  I absolutely loved the fruity peppers and herbal smoke, they came together wonderfully with a great balance between sweeter malt notes and a hint of bitterness from the oak.  

This was surprisingly well balanced for a single cask expression, especially one only a decade old.  The only thing that would have really improved this would be a bit more complexity and depth in the overall flavor profile.  However, there is little point in complaining to much when a dram is as good as this this.  It garnered a couple of first place votes for Best of the Night when we poured this at a tasting, it was however roundly defeated by a 34 Year Girvan (SMWS G7.15).  Personally, I thought this was much better than the old grain, but majority opinion preferred the sweeter and thicker profile of the old grain.  Give me a tropical fruit barbecue any day!