caol isla 12 year old peated

[senor_robusto]

hey all,
having been busy for the last few days, i haven't had a chance to post my thoughts on the latest single malt i picked up, the caol ila 12 year old peated! i called up to tescos on friday night after work with the intentions of picking up a bottle of my beloved bruichladdich laddie ten! however, whilst browsingthe alcohol section, i noticed that the caol ila was on offer for ?25 ( it's usually ?34)!! i had been meaning to try it for ages, but something else..... usually bruichladdich, got in the way! i thought this was too good a bargain to pass up on, given that the laddie ten is now ?35!!

anyway, i have to say, i'm super impressed with this dram! in my experience, the closest thing i've tried to this is bruichladdich's 'port charlotte: an turas mor', another favourite of mine (now discontinued)!! the colour is a pale, straw like hue! the nose is light smoke, peat, sweet apple (reminds me a little of green spot), briney/ sea breeze! the taste of this is very balanced, sweet with a touch of light spice and a dusting of peat smoke! hints of citrus and vanilla ebbed and flowed thoughout! a couple of tea spoons of water seemed to release some other elements though i can't seem to pin them down! the finish was lovely and warming and left a nice glow in the belly!

if i was to describe this whisky, in a nutshell, i'd describe it as rustic yet refined! to me, this is a late summer/ early autumn evening dram! something to enjoy out in the garden when the sun is setting and the barbeque is dying down or the firepit/ chimenea is starting to pick up and you've got decent company and conversation going! this is definitely a contender for taking away to the country to enjoy in the evenings (we usually rent a traditional cottage in donegal or sligo)!!

slainte,

alex

[Simon-JG-hr]

Sounds delightful, Alex. I've been a big Caol Ila fan since I happened upon their 1996 Distiller's Edition which coats the mouth beautifully - but I haven't tried this one yet (it's now on 'the list'). Great review, made my mouth water just reading it.

[mrcigar]

I've not seen Caol Isla on the supermarket shelves for years - I thought they'd done away with it. And reduced from ?34 to ?25 is a real bargain. I must go see if my local Tesco has some in stock at the same price.

I did get the opportunity to try some Caol Isla 18 whilst in Cape Town a few years back, and it was exceptionally good. I had the last of the bottle in the hotel where I was staying, and tried it back to back with the Caol Isla 15. The barman broke the cork in the bottle neck of the 15 and resorted to pushing the remains of the cork back into the bottle before straining it through a tea strainer. In the true spirit of honesty and integrity he chose to pour the crudely strained 15 into the 18 bottle before placing it back on the shelf, grinning triumphantly.

[spirit_of_will]

Just back from Tesco's, none left at mine, just an empty space on the shelf! Shame as I'd have picked some up...

[butternutsquashpie]

I've never had a Caol Ihla either actually. I've always just taken the Talisker 10 if I want a really peaty whiskey for a standard price.
However the Talisker and Caol Ihla are both 85-90 CAD here (55-60 quid?). Is the Caol Iha more or less peaty than the Talisker 10 then??

Also, is it really worth the 60 quid it costs us here? |:
Rather get the Laddie12 for only around 35 quid.

[SmokeyDave]

I love Caol Ila and that is a bargain price!

At xmas I picked up a bottle of the distillers edition, quite sublime and different to other Islay whiskies, a slow start on the palette that really develops and blossoms as it evaporates in the mouth.

[senor_robusto]

I've never had a Caol Ihla either actually. I've always just taken the Talisker 10 if I want a really peaty whiskey for a standard price.
However the Talisker and Caol Ihla are both 85-90 CAD here (55-60 quid?). Is the Caol Iha more or less peaty than the Talisker 10 then??

Also, is it really worth the 60 quid it costs us here? |:
Rather get the Laddie12 for only around 35 quid.

the one thing i liked about both talisker 10 and caol ila 12 is that they are both pretty mild peat and smoke! if i was to compare both, the talisker 10 is more briney and minerally, wheras the caol ila has a fruity element to it! i had a couple last night when i got home from work and i was picking up traces of apple/ pineapple! sorry, i've digressed, both are pretty much the same when it comes to peat content! anyway, i definitely preferred the caol ila.....

btw, that's seriously expensive for these whiskies.... again, i bought it because it was ?25, nearly a tenner cheaper than it's usual price! i wouldn't recommend them at those prices.... what else is in that ball park for you? if the laddie 12 is half the price of these for you, i'd stick to that for sure!


alex

[butternutsquashpie]

btw, that's seriously expensive for these whiskies.... again, i bought it because it was ?25, nearly a tenner cheaper than it's usual price! i wouldn't recommend them at those prices.... what else is in that ball park for you?

The CI does seem like the better option for me. Coming from a man who's go to malt is the standard Cragganmore or Dalmore.
Prices inCanada are always screwed over cause of our damned liquor tax. Not only that, buy we've also got a shite selection. I can't even get dalmores in stores here......

I do need to get the Cragganmore distillers before they're gone though..... That itself is 105 CAD. So like 60, 65 GBP??

The only thing that is remotely like your prices -of around 35GBP- is like Glenlivet 12 or glenfiddich or shitey shitey aberlour 12. It sucks, but I get by......

[senor_robusto]

The CI does seem like the better option for me. Coming from a man who's go to malt is the standard Cragganmore or Dalmore.
Prices inCanada are always screwed over cause of our damned liquor tax. Not only that, buy we've also got a shite selection. I can't even get dalmores in stores here......

I do need to get the Cragganmore distillers before they're gone though..... That itself is 105 CAD. So like 60, 65 GBP??

The only thing that is remotely like your prices -of around 35GBP- is like Glenlivet 12 or glenfiddich or shitey shitey aberlour 12. It sucks, but I get by......

i definitely sympathize with you, being screwed by your tax! the cragganmore 12 is generally in the same price bracket as glenlivett, arberlour and glenfiddich, ?30!!! even the cragganmore distillers is around ?40 over here! as for dalmore, i've a bottle of the gran reserva i bought 2 years ago, ?40!! i never really feel the urge to pour a glass though.....

but, yes!!! i definitely feel that the caol ila 12 is up there with the best islay's i've tried to date, definitely the best in it's price range!! have you tried bunnahabhain 12? btw, the bench mark for my fav ever islays so far is bruichladdich 'port charlotte: PC8' and ardbeg uigeadail.... both on the wrong side of the ?50 mark:

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/port-charlotte-pc8-whisky/

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-114.aspx

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-12827.aspx

alex

[butternutsquashpie]

i definitely sympathize with you, being screwed by your tax! the cragganmore 12 is generally in the same price bracket as glenlivett, arberlour and glenfiddich, ?30!!! even the cragganmore distillers is around ?40 over here! as for dalmore, i've a bottle of the gran reserva i bought 2 years ago, ?40!! i never really feel the urge to pour a glass though.....

That is just depressing. Let us not mention that again..
And that Dalmore.. IF my memory does me justice, gran reserva is a tad more expensive than the modern equivalent: the cigar reserve. Methinks its fetching a good 150-200CAD here... I would sell that bloody thing if you're looking for a legitimate Dalmore taste. You could always try it, but don't be looking for greatness in that bottle.
I'm nursing a 22YO of Dalmore here anyways. Enjoying this thing as I got it from a mate of mine (NO TAX! : ).

but, yes!!! i definitely feel that the caol ila 12 is up there with the best islay's i've tried to date, definitely the best in it's price range!! have you tried bunnahabhain 12? btw, the bench mark for my fav ever islays so far is bruichladdich 'port charlotte: PC8' and ardbeg uigeadail.... both on the wrong side of the ?50 mark:

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/port-charlotte-pc8-whisky/

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-114.aspx

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-12827.aspx

I've not bloody clue what any of those things are... The bunnahabhain is new to me. The link I clicked, I couldn't even recognise it as a Laddie if it wasn't for the shape of the bottle and tin. And the Ardberg, our province is discontinuing the sales of the GENERIC ardberg 10.. Let alone a cask strength variant.

However, on the topic of Islays, i'm getting a bottle of Laphroaig 10 (or is it 12, i don't know anymore) for 60CAD (just over 35 quid) and i'm ecstatic about it already. This is how depressing our tax system is here. Also, the prices on all those links, they'll be around 25-35% more expensive if I bought them here. They get delivered to the port authority and i pay them taxes at the building to claim the bottles..... i'd say they're failing the 50quid mark for me! haha

[senor_robusto]

I've not bloody clue what any of those things are... The bunnahabhain is new to me. The link I clicked, I couldn't even recognise it as a Laddie if it wasn't for the shape of the bottle and tin. And the Ardberg, our province is discontinuing the sales of the GENERIC ardberg 10.. Let alone a cask strength variant.

However, on the topic of Islays, i'm getting a bottle of Laphroaig 10 (or is it 12, i don't know anymore) for 60CAD (just over 35 quid) and i'm ecstatic about it already. This is how depressing our tax system is here. Also, the prices on all those links, they'll be around 25-35% more expensive if I bought them here. They get delivered to the port authority and i pay them taxes at the building to claim the bottles..... i'd say they're failing the 50quid mark for me! haha

as far as i can remember, port charlotte was/is a side project of bruichladdich and jim mcewan! they revived the old port charlotte distillery next to bruichladdich and at the start of this year, they released the first official port charlotte 10 year old! previous to this it was released yearly in it's elements or different stages as limited bottlings, usually costing around ?70 (that's what i paid for my pc8)!! so, collectors out there have bottles from PC5 to PC9, all cask strength! there are a couple of standard releases, port charlotte 'the peat project' and my favourite, port charlotte: an turas mor (this is discontinued, but still available if you look)!!

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-18231.aspx

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-18826.aspx

the bunnahabhain is a great dram and next on my islay purchase list ( i hope i haven't picked you up wrong, it's not a bruichladdich, it's another famous independant islay distillery)! my father in law picked up a bottle a few months ago and it was absolutely delightful! i'm not sure why i keep passing by laphroig 10, i guess it has something to do with the fact it's in the same price bracket as laddie 10, ?35!!! i must remedy that!

btw, what kind of taxes are you paying on a bottle?

alex

[butternutsquashpie]

as far as i can remember, port charlotte was/is a side project of bruichladdich and jim mcewan! they revived the old port charlotte distillery next to bruichladdich and at the start of this year, they released the first official port charlotte 10 year old! previous to this it was released yearly in it's elements or different stages as limited bottlings, usually costing around ?70 (that's what i paid for my pc8)!! so, collectors out there have bottles from PC5 to PC9, all cask strength! there are a couple of standard releases, port charlotte 'the peat project' and my favourite, port charlotte: an turas mor (this is discontinued, but still available if you look)!!

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-18231.aspx

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-18826.aspx

the bunnahabhain is a great dram and next on my islay purchase list ( i hope i haven't picked you up wrong, it's not a bruichladdich, it's another famous independant islay distillery)! my father in law picked up a bottle a few months ago and it was absolutely delightful! i'm not sure why i keep passing by laphroig 10, i guess it has something to do with the fact it's in the same price bracket as laddie 10, ?35!!! i must remedy that!

I try not to sample everything McEwan throws at me. All and all, he's still a business man and I love him for reviving bruichladdich. But some thigns are just aimed at grabbing the dollar or pound away from your palate.
Port Charlotte would have its own master distillers i guess, so it's worth a shot. Lemme just do a quick search in our gov. ran liquor store aaaaaaaaaand.... Two came up:

http://lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=220772

http://lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=288084

Bloody expensive if you ask me. Especially for a revived distillery like that one....
I sure wish I had your selection though..... My whiskey knowledge will stay at decently large distilleries if i keep staying in my province. But i'll arrange a trip to Scotland one day, so I guess i'll stick to my big ones for now.

btw, what kind of taxes are you paying on a bottle?

alex

Well that site I showed you earlier has all the prices of the bottles. Search things like bruichladdich or cragganmore and see the price hikes! Or search things like Dalmore and see the extinction. It's either one or the other.
UNLESS, the LCBO picks up on dying distilleries like the port ellen a few years back. That we all got 100 bottles of that shite for a good 80 dollars each. Now that it's closed and all, i'm pretty damned sure they go for 300 or so now.....
However, all and all, we get taxed around..... 20-30%? (math off the top of my head based on your prices from before.

[senor_robusto]

I try not to sample everything McEwan throws at me. All and all, he's still a business man and I love him for reviving bruichladdich. But some thigns are just aimed at grabbing the dollar or pound away from your palate.
Port Charlotte would have its own master distillers i guess, so it's worth a shot. Lemme just do a quick search in our gov. ran liquor store aaaaaaaaaand.... Two came up:

http://lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=220772

http://lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=288084

Bloody expensive if you ask me. Especially for a revived distillery like that one.... .

i get what you mean, about jim McEwan being a business man, but it's his obvious passion and enthusiasm for his whisky that does it for me! port charlotte is definitely a concept that's driven by passion, not profits! i've tried PC7, PC8 and the 'an turas mor'.... and there's definitely something special about them! they are expensive here, but good grief, that's serious money for you guys to pay! as for bruichladdich, from my first tasting of laddie ten, i fell in love with this distillery, and so far, i haven't been let down yet! one of my favourite drams was the 'barley 2004'...... the 'barley 2006' is wonderful stuff too!

check out this link:

http://www.scotchyscotch.com/tag/port-charlotte

i found this address for you, a liquor store in washington dc! the prices look pretty good, and the selection is impressive!

http://bassins.com/spirits/single-malt-scotch.php

hope this helps mate......

alex

[butternutsquashpie]

i get what you mean, about jim McEwan being a business man, but it's his obvious passion and enthusiasm for his whisky that does it for me! port charlotte is definitely a concept that's driven by passion, not profits! i've tried PC7, PC8 and the 'an turas mor'.... and there's definitely something special about them! they are expensive here, but good grief, that's serious money for you guys to pay! as for bruichladdich, from my first tasting of laddie ten, i fell in love with this distillery, and so far, i haven't been let down yet! one of my favourite drams was the 'barley 2004'...... the 'barley 2006' is wonderful stuff too!

check out this link:

http://www.scotchyscotch.com/tag/port-charlotte

i found this address for you, a liquor store in washington dc! the prices look pretty good, and the selection is impressive!

http://bassins.com/spirits/single-malt-scotch.php

hope this helps mate......

alex

That is true, he still allows the master blenders and all to do their work. Just like how United Distilleries does it too.
Thos ones, I have no idea what they are now. The LCBO does the whole regulation, so that's depressing as all hell......... With the money that you saw!! The port Charlotte seems like a good buy, Especially how much you've hyped them up! But my money is always "wasted" on the taxes for the Cragganmore instead of trying new things once in a while.....
Plus i've been looking for something a tad more peatier than an Islay, maybe an Isle that's NOT talisker now. I bought the Aberlour in hopes of that but again, it was thoroughly depressing........


And bleeding hell, I was just there last week.......! The prices are the same as the duty free on the border, but they seem to have a much larger selection. Ugh, i'll just stick with what i've here now until I can leave the province again.....