Caol Ila 24 Year Old 1984 The Coopers Choice

Caol Ila 25 Year Old First Cask

This Caol Ila was distilled on 9th February 1982 (damn, I was a 12 year old school kid at the time!) and slept for 25 years on bourbon hogshead #741, to be bottled on 17th April 2007. Only 220 bottles were available at an amazing 60,8% ABV. The angels were rather economical, eh? It was bottled by WIN (Whisky Import Netherlands) under their First...

Score 88/100

Caol Ila 9 Year Old 2013 Smoking Buffalo

We had to wait a long time for it (honestly, I thought that the series was coming to an end with number 10, bottled in 2018), but here it is: the Smoking Buffalo 11, in honor of the 2022 Cup Final win of KAA Gent, my local football club. It is once again a Caol Ila, this time distilled in 2013 and bottled at cask strength. I hurried to order it,...

Score 87/100

Caol Ila 19 Year Old 1996 Douglas Laing Old Particular

Douglas Laing bottled this 19 year old Caol Ila in their Old Particular series. The refill hogshead yielded 313 bottles at a cask strength of 51,5%. It appeared on the market in December 2015. The nose is a wonderful mix of smoked bacon, ashes and plasticine against unripe banana, lime and a truckload of aniseed. It is surprisingly sweet on the...

Score 86/100

Caol Ila 6 Year Old 2013 Signatory for The Nectar

The Nectar, Belgian importer, selected this so-called Charred Wine Hogshead from the stables of Signatory, near Pitlochry. It was filled in June 2013 with spirit from my favorite Islay distillery and bottled in September 2019. This young, powerful Coal Ila is hence only 6 years old. The ABV makes me wonder if I should have some water handy. Ha,...

Score 87/100