Caol Ila 15 yo 2000 ‘unpeated style’ , Special release 2016

This year’s Caol Ila is a 15 year old ‘Unpeated Style’, this is in in line with the recent few expressions of the Unpeated CI’s appearing over the last couple of years at various ages between 10 and 17… While they are not bad, I do not recall an excellent CI, and I find it that I prefer Peated Coal Ilas, or that those unpeated ones are just not THAT exciting Let’s hope this year’s edition is different.

Caol Ila 15 yo 2000 ‘unpeated style’ 61,5%, OB 2016, €107 (TWE)

Nose: Starts sweet and spicy, with pine resin on the one end and some ]sweet creamy vanilla, and pastries on the other end. There’s a wee smoke underneath all (Yes, I know this is ‘unpeated’ style). I’m also getting a lot of sweet dough and icing sugar (yes, I know it’s Hannuka, so maybe some sufganiot as well), there are  some farmy notes, too which add another nice dimension to it, and after all this is an Islay, right? Ok, not bad. But..

Palate: Big and spicy on entry, with pepper, chilly. Oily and thick, with a layer of sweet sugar candy, more sweet dough, vanilla, and a touch of grapefruit, toffee, malt and milk chocolate. Not quite what you’d expect from Coal Ila, is it ?

Finish: Quite pungent, and peppery, going a long way, some more chocolate sweetness as well.

Conclusion: It’s not bad, you know? But it’s not really exceptional either. I don’t know, but something is lacking, and I find it not as good as some previous unpeated expressions from CI. Since the Lagavulin 12 is THAT good and price wise they are very similar, I find it hard to justify buying this one. However, some people really like this profile..

Score: 84/100

Available from TWE for €107 / £88