Caol Ila 2001 19 Year Old Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange

Billy Abbott, The Whisky Exchange

• Nose

  Smouldering bracken, roasting apples and pineapples, wine gums and a gentle sea breeze. Heather-honey drizzled pears – lightly poached – are sprinkled with brown sugar and blowtorched.

• Palate

  Soft, rounded and sweet, with singed mango, apple sauce and sweet pear backed up by aniseed ball and black pepper spice, and layers of coal-forward barbecue smoke. Gummi bears and wine gums emerge from the ashes, along with lime zest and a touch of barrel char.

• Finish

  A refreshing burst of ozone and brine leads to a touch of ash and long, lingering fruitiness – apples, pears and wine gums.

• Comment

  While young Caol Ila can be feisty, almost two decades in wood have allowed the spirit to calm down, although without losing its freshness. The smoke has peeled back to allow fruitiness to shine through, providing a rich and peaty backdrop for this tropically tinged dram.