Port Askaig 33 Single Cask [Road to #1000, Review #989]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lucky enough to taste a bunch of the Port Askaig range; 15, 16, 19, 28, 30 & 45. Most of which have been Caol Ila or Bunnahabhain.

The Importer of Port Askaig to the USA is ImpEx Beverages and this sample is another one I have to thank them for, specifically Jared Card. Thanks buddy!

There was also a 25yo from a batch of casks, which I was lucky enough to taste but didn’t make notes. I thought that one was a Laphroaig.

This on the other hand is a single cask, presented in one of those big sturdy wooden boxes that we love to pay for…

Port Askaig 33 Single Cask 50.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Interesting, complex nose with a lot of different facets. Soft salty smoke, soft fruit and oils, white pepper, white florals, faint smoked meat, interesting moss and a minty note-spearmint. More leathery as it opens up.

Taste: Soft and complex, great arrival, great mouthfeel on silky oils, smoke then salty with lemon juice, white pepper, white florals, white peach then darker into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Delicious. More overtly peaty with malt and some leather, a bit minty at the end. A little dry here.

American exclusive single cask. This is an expensive whisky (doesn’t come into my scoring but it’s worth mentioning) and although it is interesting and complex, there has also been something lost. Don’t get me wrong, this is great whisky but I think I was expecting more from it.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #827

Whisky Network Review #989

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Caol Ila 1993 Murray McDavid & A.D. Rattray Reviews

Hi everyone,

Two Caol Ila’s from my birth year today! There’s always something special about tasting whisky from the same year as you were born, I have no idea why, it just seems to be the case.

But it gets harder and harder as you go on and, in fact, both of these bottlings were bottled a little while ago.

I can’t repeated enough that Caol Ila, when on form, can be just as good as any other Islay whisky and can often have recognisable elements of Laphroaig, Ardbeg or Lagavulin to it. It’s incredibly versatile.

Caol Ila 1993 Murray McDavid Aficionados 59.1%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Soft creamy smoke, smoky vanilla pod, a little spice- green peppercorns, clean bandages.

Taste: Citrus lemon arrival, dry then amazingly soft with creamy smoke balancing well with the cutting citrus component. Quite a Rich mouthfeel to this. Really doesn’t feel like almost 60% either!

Finish: More malty, dry and spicy.

Bottled at 13yo and stored in glass. Aceo are the company that now own Murray McDavid and they do bottlings for many other people. This one was something someone had bottled but then didn’t do anything with, so it was just sitting around in the warehouse.

78/100

 

Caol Ila 1993 A.D.Rattay 55.7%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Creamy and sulphury and smoky and awesome. Very little sweetness and fruit, maybe a little freeze dried raspberry, inner machine sludge and peat, earthy AF. A meatiness coming out now with bacon cooking away in the next room (and yes, its as delicious as it sounds).

Taste: Power power power, loads of smoke, but really really well balanced and complex, earthy, thick and oily, a little Sherry, meaty with bacon again. So great. The balance achieved with the massive power is quite striking.

Finish: Long length. Softens out nicely, some dryer oak, juicy raisin. Lovely.

Bottled at 18yo from a Sherry cask. What a Caol Ila! Never fails to amaze how good their whisky can be! Many thanks to the Toronto Whisky Society for the night of amazing drams!

88/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #809-#810

Whisky Network Reviews #963-#964

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Caol Ila 9 Magic of the Cask (Whisky Exchange Show 2019) Review

Hi everyone,

A big attraction of the Whisky Exchange Show is the Whisky Exchange’s show bottlings. Last year there were some crackers, as well as cool holographic labels.

Of course, this year they had to go one better and do UV labels!

The theme was the magic of the cask and this Caol Ila was the only one I had the time to try. All are sold out anyway I think. Anyway, this Caol Ila was reportedly from a very old refill Sherry cask, having a name on the end that hadn’t been used for over 100 years. Yeah, very old Sherry cask then.

Caol Ila 9 Magic of the Cask 58.7%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Lightly meaty, gristy malt, soft smoke and citrus, menthol, almost Ledaig or Ardbeggian character to it, quite light nose though.

Taste: Great arrival, zingy citrus, lime and lemon, great balance of smoke, malt, sweet honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, golden raisin, very oily.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Drying but sweet still, honey, butter, oils.

Released for the Whisky Exchange Show 2019. Really great, lovely balance of the oils and smoke with the citrus and sweet elements but too expensive for what it is IMO at £85. UV labels are expensive though!

81/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #795

Whisky Network Review #947

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Compass Box No Name No. 2 Review

Hi everyone,

Thought some people might appreciate my thoughts on this whisky quickly as it has just come out here in the UK.

I was a big fan of the last No Name from Compass Box but that one had a parcel of Ardbeg, whereas this is mainly Coal Ila with some Talisker attached.

 

Compass Box No Name No. 2 48.9%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Clean smoke, pure lemon, soft soot and charred wood, creamy vanilla, maritime with wet ropes and sails, sea salt crust, little bit of a muted nose.

Taste: Soft, light smoke, chewy oils, then more powerful with smoke and black pepper, ginger and chilli, big salty hit, lemon juice. Softer, more silky and Campbeltown-esque as it opens up.

Finish: Long length. More lemon, more salt, a little oak at the end. Not particularly complex but good.

Lacking the complexity and balance of no1, nice nose, bit too spicy on the taste. I think the Coal Ila comes through very clearly on this one and maybe the spiciness from the Talisker but this was meant to be more complex than No Name 1 (which I loved the purity of) and I didn’t find that it was. Oh, and its £10 more expensive.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #765

Whisky Review #910

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Caol Ila 2004 Hermitage G&M & 1991 Cooper's Choice Reviews

Hi everyone,

We’ve got some Caol Ila today. It’s the largest distillery on Islay, pumping out the good stuff for them to cram into Johnnie Walker. But sometimes there’s too much of it, or they don’t need it, or it doesn’t fit into the flavour profile or a company has filling contracts for it.

So they sell it. Quite a bit of it actually, because they can afford to and because they can. So if you see a mystery Islay, there normally isn’t a huge amount of mystery behind it and its Caol Ila. And remember, Caol Ila is hugely versatile and can taste like Laphroaig or Lagavulin if it wants to. So, some sneaky people imply that it’s a more prestigious distillery but most industry insiders know exactly what it is…

These aren’t those mystery’s though. Nope. These are clearly labelled and deliciously matured by two good indie bottlers that seem to know what they’re doing.

Caol Ila 2004 Hermitage Finish 45%

Colour: Redish Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Memories of the Ledaig Hermitage but less intense, funky, meaty smoke, herbal notes and creamy raspberry.

Taste: Soft, sweet, little smoke but red berries, cranberry, some herbal notes in there, the red wine has really softened it actually. Some peppery spice.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Very little here, small berries, a little more smoke than the palate.

3 year Hermitage finish was perhaps a little too long? Not enough to Caol Ila to it and the wine has really shot the finish.

70/100

 

Caol Ila 1991 Cooper's Choice 46%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Old Laphroaig, tropical fruit and dusty peat with sooty undertones, mango and lemon, quite soft, there's a little biscuit. Quite quiet as old Caol Ila often is at first. Some more maritime notes as it opens up with dried seaweed and more oak then also floral notes.

Taste: Soft and textured, lovely oily malt, lemon and some pineapple, then cinnamon, very old Laphroaig-like, sooty, nice strength, excellent balance. Florals underneath with dry oak, Parma Violets, almost old Bowmore like as it develops.

Finish: Long length. Lots of soot, much more earthy with creamy heather and some slight medicinal notes.

Refill butt, bottled 2016 at 25yo. Wonderful example of older Caol Ila and, as I said, when it wants to, Caol Ila can taste like any of the other Islay distilleries.

82/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #709-#710

Whisky Network Reviews #846-#847

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Claxton's: Caol Ila 2012 & Dumbarton 31 Reviews

Hi everyone,

A whisky or two from Claxton’s, a fairly new independent bottler that seems to be doing quite well. I like their very squarish looking bottles, although we all know its what’s on the inside that counts…

Caol Ila 2012 Claxtons 57.2%

Colour: Straw

Body: Full

Nose: No NMS but coastal to 11! Mineral Kilchoman-like notes all over it, wet rocks and sea salt, lemon citrus, wonderful nose. Raw and powerful.

Taste: So soft, lacking a touch of power then big mineral Kilchoman-like notes again, seashore, salty.

Finish: Short length. Doesn't have a load of staying power. Lemon.

Kilchoman not from Kilchoman. Always amazed by Caol Ila's versatility and this is a great young selection.

74/100

Dumbarton 31 Claxtons ?abv?

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Great, creamy, vanilla, raspberry ripple, very soft oak.

Taste: Soft, very creamy, very nicely balanced, creamy vanilla, soft raspberry.

Finish: Long length. Some spice comes in, even more balanced, spicy white chocolate. Great.

Yet to be released. Lovely older grain. I am finding that Grain peaks that about this age, retaining the freshness but finding some complexity.

78/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #665-#666

Whisky Network Reviews #798-#799

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Caol Ila Cask Strength & 1991 Signatory Reviews (Bottled 2007)

Hi everyone,

Back in my favourite whisky bar in Chamonix, France (it’s the only whisky bar in Chamonix, France) I thought I’d have a crack at that rare 1970 Bruichladdich up on the top shelf. But then I remembered that I brought my wife and she wouldn’t let me blow 50 euros on one shot of whisky. (it was a double! Come on.)

So the cheap stuff it was for me. Luckily they had some other really interesting stuff and I ended up trying these Caol Ila’s, only realising afterwards that they were released the same year.

Caol Ila 1991 Signatory 46%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Quite light on the smoke, more maritime and oily, and pretty complex, quite savoury tobacco, wet leather, beach campfire, some cigar smoke, neoprene wetsuit. Then a little fresh melon with time. Smells much older than its 16 years.

Taste: Soft start, lacking a bit of power then very salty with some sour lemon juice, green apple and smoky minerality, spices then coming in with some ginger and a little light pepper but not as complex as the nose suggested.

Finish: Medium/Long length. A little zesty with nice spice, paprika and lemon.

From Hogsheads, bottled back in 2007 at 16 years old. Great great nose, taste and finish don't follow up unfortunately.

76/100

 

Caol Ila Cask Strength 59.6%

Colour: Straw

Body: Full

Nose: Intense! Seriously smoky, creamy, medicinal and mineral. Elements of lots of Islay distilleries in here actually but Kilchoman comes to mind the most. Calpol cough syrup like some Laphroaig's, seashells.

Water: Ooo some meaty notes emerge, Gingseng tea, earthy, more ethereal though.

Taste: Soft start for the abv, then very very mineral like a big Kilchoman, salty and maritime, intensely smoky, slightly medicinal and creamy, oily lemon, some wool weirdly then more perfumed but still powerful smoke and lemon citrus. A little spicy with some ginger into the finish.

Water: Softer, more salty, then more spicy with ginger and hot white pepper which unbalances it.

Finish: Long length. Intense initially with mineral, lemon, some ginger snaps and a little white pepper.

No bottling code but Whiskybase tells me bottled 2007. Potent stuff with much more smoke than expected from a Caol Ila, not young either despite the NAS. And despite the strength, it doesn't improve with water I'd say. A great find at the back of the shelf.

79/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #571-#572

Whisky Network Reviews #676-#677

Network Average: 74.7

Best Score: 93

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Caol Ila 15 Unpeated 2014 Review

Hi everyone,

I’ve always wanted to try one of these unpeated Caol Ila’s that Diageo release almost every year.

If you didn’t know, Caol Ila produce some highland style whisky for their blends. This is supposedly unpeated because the barley used isn’t peated, but because there’s so much peated whisky going through the system (stills, pipework, tanks, etc.), the phenols can get through anyway and I’ve heard reports that these unpeated Caol Ila’s can still be pretty peaty. Especially at their high proof.

 

Caol Ila 15 Unpeated 60.39%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Ethereal and light. Yellow apple, yellow Physalis dessert fruit, heather, some honey, spice behind. No peat actually.

Water: Ah, closes up like a clam. Takes time to come back at all. Honey crumbed ham.

Taste: Intense, yellow apple, grape, soft soot, brown sugar, oily. Very softly smoky, mainly oily and softly sweet.

Water: More spicy, more heather and white pepper, more smoke.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Oils and brown sugar are left. Longer with water with smoke and spice.

2014 release. I think this was better neat in the end, and although I’d heard that these can be peaty, I only found whispers of it on this one.

77/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #519

Whisky Network Review #611

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?