Whisky : Caol Ila 11 Year SMWS 53.302 “Holy sweet smoke”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 59.9%

Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead

Age : 11 Year (Distilled 24 Sept. 2007)

Nose : Clean, bright, and full of malt and smoke notes— the wife pinpointed it as ‘lightly smoked cheerios.’  A bit further in creamy citrus notes emerge— limoncello sorbet, tangerines, and black tar.  Breezy maritime salt arrives along with caramel, treacle, toffee and a bit of aquarium funk from the upwind penguin exhibit.

Palate : Oily and chewy body with a sharpe flavor set.  Initial punch of brine, smoke, and tar sands.  Citrus rinds doused with kerosene and lit on fire, industrial dockyard, and some bitter herbal black tea.  A few drops of water bring out more antiseptic notes and saltwater taffy as salty maritime and caramelized sugars come to the front.

Finish : Lingering sea salt, black pepper, and some now totally burnt sugars.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Saltwater Tar Stain

Something Better : Caol Ila 9Y SMoS (similar industrial shore maritime/mineral/oil, more complex)

Something Worse : Caol Ila 12Y (similar brine/citrus, less industrial/medicinal, less intense)

Notes : Light and clean on the nose, this was a beast on the palate. Loads of phenolic bite came roaring out of the glass and mostly smothered the more subtle citrus notes.  This was a peat punch to be sure, but not one with a lot of depth to it.  Water smoothed out some of the bite and brought forward additional elements, but the overall profile remained shallow.  If the palate matched the nose a little bit more, I have no doubt I would be scoring this higher because I really enjoyed the nose.  It initially reminded me of the ‘unpeated style’ Caol Ila special editions though the palate bore no resemblance.  The wife thought it was a bit too sweet, though she found it to be overall a lot maltier than I did.  In the main, not a horrible Caol Ila, I would happily accept a pour of this— but this is not the kind of Caol Ila that gets me excited.