Caol Ila 25y OB - 2018 edition

Caol Ila 25y official bottle - bottled 2018 - 43%
Bottle code: L8269CM003 - 2018 edition

scores:
whiskybase – 89/136  wb121618
serge valentin - 90

Caol Ila 25 yo (43%, OB, 2018)
Always a fun bottling to follow. Colour: gold. Nose: ahhh yes! Gentle medical embrocations, dried seaweed, seashore, various shellfish, lemon infused olive oil, dried herbal aspects, some light petrol notes and lots of old school cough medicines. The height of sophistication and elegance! Mouth: this is the missing link between these great early 1980s casks and the mid-1990s ones. Many medical balms, cooking oils, gentle smoke, sootiness and a rather earthy and herbal peat profile. Wee touches of camphor, ink and waxed canvas. Some pebble-driven minerality too. Great balance and perfect poise. Unequivocally excellent. Finish: good length, some wonderfully resinous coastal and salty characteristics. Smoked fish, black pepper, olive tapenade and oyster sauce. Comments: I think this bottling improved again over some previous batches. A kind of old fashioned style of bottling that you might have found more readily in the 1990s (Caol Ila’s Laphroaig 30 year old if you see what I mean?), but I think it really works very well. Effortless and charming stuff.
SGP: 465 - 90 points.