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£43.95
£36.63 ex VAT
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Style
- Body
- Richness
- Smoke
- Sweetness
Character
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Vanilla
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Pear
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Brine
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Tar
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Smoke
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Toffee
Caol Ila 12 Year Old Reviews
Tasting Notes
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Tasting Notes by the Whisky Exchange
Nose: Intense and rich, with malted barley and gentle floral touches overcome by smoky notes.
Palate: Light and fresh, with toffee, vanilla and pear balanced by smoke and ashy touches.
Finish: Complex and long, with sweetness fading to leave dark and smoky flavours.
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Tasting Notes by Rocky
Nose: An intensely rich nose of Shreddies and toffee with hints of violet. When left in the glass for a minute or two, smoky bacon notes were also apparent.
Palate: Fairly light in texture with notes of toffee, vanilla and pear joined by a hint of ash on the very back palate.
Finish: Light in intensity, but not in complexity. The sweeter notes from the palate end fairly quickly, leaving a delightful subtle finish of ash, tar and light peat.
Comment: Another excellent whisky for those who don’t like their Islay too peat-heavy. I tried this with some Cashel Blue cheese and as has been proven many times before, peated whisky and blue cheese are a match made in heaven.
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Tasting Notes by Dave Broom for Whisky Advocate
Funny to think how recently Caol Ila was an Islay giant that was kept pretty much under wraps by its owner. These days it has cemented its reputation as the island's Mr. Consistent. This version shows its character the best, a nose that mixes seashore and grass with a distinct hint of smoked bacon. The peatiness isn't dominant, but flows through-out the palate, scenting, lifting and subtly changing the mix. A delicious oiliness makes it a great food whisky.
89 Points
75 Customer Reviews
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I'm reading reviews which have 5 star assessments and wondering if I just sampled a counterfeit COAL ILA 12 last night at a friend's table. I strolled into the kitchen with my wife on the pretence of going for a smoke and for the first time in my life I washed a whisky away down the sink.
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Lovely! Very sweet perfumes as if in Paris! Overwhelming smokey taste spreads in to entire breathing. But the perfume when you first opened the bottle is ahhh... Thanks to my son for it.
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Just into my 3rd dram of this over the last 3 nights. To me it's an incredible whisky, the nose is very good but the palate is where it all happens.. On the nose a slight salty brine with wonderful banana and pineapple sweetness and just a subtle hint of peat. On the palate, so smooth and complex, hints of toffee, vanilla and sweet ripe fruit with a hint of ashy peat floral, honey and bubble gum. Well done and one of my new favourites. Do yourself a favour and pick yourself up a bottle.
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Is there something wrong with my bottle or does this whisky really have no body whilst leaving a chemical aftertaste? I love peaty whisky and found Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Talisker all way superior to this.
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Excellent price, quick delivery and good customer service. Very impressed and would order from again.
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Smooth and smokey at the same time. May not be as rich tasting as a Lagavulin 12, but well worth the price tag. Love it.
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The whiskey I rate all others against.
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That strange distinctive smell of something like antiseptic cream or tcp haha but to taste it’s a beautiful mix of sweet and fruity with a punching smoky finish. Toffee and ash are the two main properties for me but I’m still learning. Perfect balance.
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When I first tasted this my overwhelming impression was of disinfectant. After persisting I got used to it and started to like it. Having now just found a quarter of a bottle in the back of the cupboard (must be at least a year old) I am really quite enjoying it. I shall have to get some more Islay's to compare.
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Wonderful dram. The Caol Ila 12 leads with classic Islay peat, earth, and smoke. However, the whisky is not as peated as an Ardbeg or Laphroaig. But it's definitely still an Islay. In addition to the earthiness and peat of this dram, there is a definite sweetness. I can taste pears as well as vanilla in it. This is a must have for peat lovers.
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yeah, caol ila12, the malt may be the the island's mr. consistent, but diageo, the owners of the malt have sworn to keep their consistency about reducing the quality of fine malts. Chill filtered whiskes DO taste thinner and less than the non chill filtered ones. Those who dont believe this, get any chill filtered malt and a non chill filtered one and have both side by side, and you will note the difference.
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Smoky, fresh and TCP on the nose. It tastes sweet and smoky (I think there is something to be said about the 'smoky bacon suggestion) Lovely drop. At around ?45 it's stunningly good value.
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It has good favours and aromas, good complexity going on. But Diageo Diegeo Diageo!!! why the hell do you ruin a perfectly good malt, why you strip off its quality and flavour. The current bottling of Caol Ila 12 is noticeably thin in the mouth, extremely thin mouthfeel, nothing oily or rich about it... Again, it has good complexity, good start, good development, good finish, but really awful mouthfeel.. just for the crappy mouthfeel, I doubt Im ever going to get another bottle of this again. I mean... seriously, would it kill Diageo to stop chill filtering their malts and bumping the alcohol to 46%, as it is these days, the barley being used is commercial, so while it is high in yield it lack in richness, so given this, I think Diageo should give us our money's worth by NOT chill filtering their single malts.
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The sweetness off the palate is then met with smoke that covers through the mouth. Great drop for it's price.
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Can't recall not liking a drop this much , kinda tastes like a cleaning fluid , sorry :(
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Undrinkable. Way too chemical. Big disappointment
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For my money this beats the Ardbeg 10. It's comparable to the Lagavulin 12 but half the price. But I actually prefer this. A super whisky which seems to be getting better while the Taliskers, Ardbegs and Highland Parks disapear up their own NAS.
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Looking at the Tasting Notes from The Whisky Exchange and Rocky, I get the malted barley (Shreddies) nose and the smoky notes. On the palate, for me, a mixture of salty and smoky. Didn't get the toffee and vanilla notes but maybe just a hint of pear. Finish was, again salty and smoky. None of this means I didn't like it. Out of the Islays I've tried so far, my personal favourites are Ardbeg 10 (more than Uigeadail) and Lagavulin 16. Didn't get on with Laphroaig 10 - too medicinal TCP for my nose or tastebuds. This one, I'd put close to Lagavulin 16 or Ardbeg 10.... but not quite as good.
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Very peated on the nose, light vanilla undertones with some floral notes dancing to and fro. The taste is equally complex, light but with heavy notes of toffee and vanilla with a very distinct peated counterpart. however i dont get fruit. The finish is down right amazing, the start of it has reminisce of it spyeside counterparts (sweet and honey) all blending and becoming a very tasteful ashy, tarry and lightly peated finish.
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Got this for a Christmas present. High expectations, but both myself and my wife found this to be not to our taste. I hate to say it, but it seems almost undrinkable. Reminiscent of creosote (on the nose), and leaves a bad chemical aftertaste. Is it possible we have a bottle of something which isn't actual legit, or are we the exception, as the other reviews are very good? I like most of the other Islay Whiskey's and have even been to the Island to visit the various distilleries, many years ago. So what gives????
