Whisky: Caol Ila 30 Year (1991), Douglas Laing for K&L

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 52.2%

Cask: Refill Hogshead

Age: 30 Years (Distilled March 1991, Bottled Oct. 2021)

Nose: Herbal, citrus, maritime, mellow grill smoke, toasted herbs, dried grass, pine sap, lemon slices, melted butter, subtle sea spray, charcoal grill and ash.

Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, buttery, lemon, salt, salted plum, tobacco; a back end punch of charcoal, black pepper, and shiso with hints of menthol.

Finish: Long and lingering with charcoal, black pepper, and shiso; butter with time.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Condiment Eating at the Grill

Narrative & Notes: Beach park barbecue or yakiniku; the wife and I debated where the aroma led us with toasted herbs, scorched rice, lemon, butter, and salt. Salty, mineral-rich sea spray fronted hints of medicinal herbs, pine sap or resin, sweet citrus, dried grass, and an undercurrent of pungent grill smoke that drifted toward ash at times. Medium-bodied on the palate with a well-structured flavor profile that crescendoed at the finish. Initially quite oily and buttery with lemon, sea salt, salted plum, and tobacco; a punch of charcoal, black pepper, and herbal shiso leaf arrived at the finish. It was as if the volume switch flipped from quiet to loud when tingly peppercorns and shiso leaf exploded at the end. Those notes lingered for a long finish with hints of salt, mint, and butter.

Wow— this was a transformer; or maybe a Decepticon. The type where you have no idea how they could transform from a samurai-looking humanoid robot into a triceratops big-rig hybrid— but somehow, it just works. The nose and palate did not entirely match, which left this dram feeling slightly disjointed at times. The transformation on the palate from a mild buttery wave of citrus and salt to a big bold herbal and charcoal-led finish was wild and unexpected. My palate tingled after every single sip as if my taste buds were experiencing the reverberations of the sudden flavor crescendo.

Overall, thirty years was not enough to tame this Caol Ila. The wife thought it smelled nice and tasted interesting— which seems like an excellent way to put it.

Image Credit: Whiskybase