Whisky : Caol Ila 14 Year (2005), Gordon & McPhail “Connoisseur’s Choice”

Country/Region : Scotland/Islay

ABV : 45%

Cask : First & Refill Bourbon Barrels (13Y), Hermitage Wine Cask (1Y)

Age : 14 Years (Distilled 2005, Bottled 25 March 2019)

Nose : Coal, meat, and maritime.  Freshly lit charcoal briquettes, burning newspaper, and a rusted old grill.  Sweeter notes merged with black cherry Kool-aide, teriyaki beef jerky, grilled swordfish, and spicy notes of pink peppercorns and coriander.

Palate : Medium bodied with a mild dryness and notes of grilled meat, caramelized sugars, and spice.  Meaty notes of smoked pig trotters, caramelized barbecue sauce, molasses, and grilled pork.  The dram became lighter over time as spicier notes of peppercorns and faint white pepper funk settled in.  Toward the end were notes of charcoal ash and burnt match heads. 

Finish : Lingering funky notes of dried berries, burnt charcoal, and wet cardboard.

Score : 4

Mental Image : “Get your feet off the picnic table!”

Notes : The wife thought this had a definite foot-funk to it and I am inclined to agree.  While the nose presented an interesting mix of different smoke and meat notes along with hints of spice and fruit, the palate felt a bit muddled.  There were not so many clean flavor notes or transitions between different levels beside the emergence of funky white pepper (or foot in the case of my wife).

I thought about buying this bottle so many times, so I am eternally grateful I got a chance to try it before committing. While it was a fun dram, it was more interesting than good and I do not think I would be in the mood to pour this very often.  No doubt that was part of the reason it took me forever to come back to this after my initial pour.

Overall, an interesting wine finish that created some nice barbecue notes, but never really came together.  The dram felt a little bit thin and the finish a bit short— though considering some of those funky notes, maybe that was not such a bad thing.

Image Credit : The Whisky Exchange