Alc-Hem-Ist, or Alchemist, is a bottler with probably the most hideous bottles available. Its a rather small company that doesn’t limit itself to bottling whisky, but I’ve seen some Calvados and Cognac from the same label as well.

My father in law had this one sitting around and after not being too impressed with it, I decided to write some tasting notes after all.

Nose:
Wet wood, of the white oak kind. There’s quite a lot of dry peat going on, with salty heather. The typical Caol Ila milkiness is there as well, together with some smoke.

Taste:
The taste shows a little more of the cask with some wood again, and a touch of vanilla. The peatiness and smoke is still there too.

Finish:
Quite fierce, unexpectedly so. It does fade very quickly, though. A hint of vanilla, loads of peat and not as smoky as I expected. The finish is more Ardbeg-ish.

A bit of a weird dram. I like it better than I remember it, but its still not a terrific glass of whisky. It started off like a regular Caol Ila, but the end of it was more like Ardbeg, with the peat and smoke bomb.

Caol Ila 10, October 1996 – September 2007, Alchemist, 46%.

Nose: 5
Taste: 4
Finish: 4
Overal experience: 4
Price/quality: 0

Total: 17 points