Image Credit: Ryeamlegend who also graciously shared his bottle. Check out his reviews and more fabulous photos through the link.

Whisky: Caol Ila 20 Year (2002), Gordon & MacPhail Cask 8378 for K&L

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 53.9%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age: 20 Years (Distilled 2002, Bottled 30 Aug. 2023)

Nose: Maritime, mellow barbecue smoke, dried grass, citrus and pepper, beach tar, old tires, malt and chocolate.

Palate: Medium-bodied, balanced, saltwater taffy, maritime and sweet, coastal and maritime, dried grass, minerals, driftwood, faint barbecue smoke and tar.

Finish: Medium to long; mellow sweetness, coastal brine, barbecue, and sweet jelly beans.

Score: 7 (81)

Mental Image: Sugar Rush on the Shore

Narrative & Notes: Coastal barbecues and dried grass wafted from the glass with menthol, lemon rind, and peppercorns.  Beach tar and old tractor tires with malty-chocolaty Ovaltine and a touch of toffee. Medium-bodied with sweet notions of saltwater taffy, mint, citrus, and dried coastal grasses— a bag of candies and a long walk along the coast with salty sea breezes, flint, minerals, and charred driftwood. More barbecue char, smoke, and coals developed at the end with a candied sweet edge.  The finish was medium to long and mildly sweet with coastal brine, barbecue, and jelly beans.

A delightfully coastal Caol Ila with plenty of barbecue notes and a nice long finish.  There was a lot to love, but I struggled with some of the saccharine and candy notes, which came on stronger with more time to rest or the addition of water.  It lent the whisky a candied quality, though it never verged on cloying. Mint stuck out as another slightly odd element, and I wondered if that was a product of the cask rather than the malt.  Caol Ila can undoubtedly have a medicinal and herbal character, but this felt different.

Overall, a relatively well-integrated and balanced Caol Ila— two decades in the cask tamed the more acrid and industrial notes to produce something soft and coastal, like a pleasant walk with a bag of candy.