Another Wu Dram Clan bottling, but this time from my own supply. I believe this one was a festival bottling for a festival somewhere in Germany (Munchen?). I was able to get my hands on a bottle and did a bit of a share with it (obviously). The rest was destined to end up in yours truly.
Yesterday, in the run up to Christmas, I finished my bottle with a sizeable dram, which means I can bring another one down from the whisky room / game storage / home office / den / whatchamacallit.
Sniff:
This is a rather gentle cask strength Caol Ila. There’s some punch, of course, but the peat has mellowed over the years of maturation, and gives room to so some pastry cream, and some milky and coastal notes. Some barley, a bit of grease, heater and sea weed.
Sip:
The palate continues down the same line, but is slightly more heavy in regards to flavor. Some diesel, some engine oil. After a little while there’s a hint of white pepper and peat. Dry sawdust, some chalk and basalt. Rather coastal indeed.
Swallow:
The finish does bring some heat, as much as you’d expect from this ABV. It’s rather long with hints of white oak, sawdust, white pepper, peaty smoke and some heather. Less coastal than the palate was, but still rather typical for the distillery.
In a way it’s all over the place with several different styles of Caol Ila passing by. With this being only 14 years old, it punches quite a bit over it’s weight, tasting far older than that. My bottle being almost empty might help with it mellowing out, but this is some quality whisky!
89/100
Malt Fascination 