Caol Ila 12 Year Old Whisky Review!

One of my wife's favourite whiskies, and one of her "safe" or "go-to" orders at a bar. Although she still prefers that horrid fermented grape juice stuff. Caol Ila 12 does fly under the radar in many circles though, despite being one of the more consistent "standard" bottlings out there.

I would say that the big issues with official bottlings of Caol Ila, apart from the "quiet giant" status of the distillery, are the complete lack of advertising and marketing of the brand in comparison to certain other Diageo distilleries. It was also left out of the line-up of six "Classic Malts" that the company focuses on as single malt whiskies, with fellow-Ileach Lagavulin instead being chosen to showcase the Islay region. That choice is understandable when you consider that when that program was launched back in 1988 - when the distilleries were still under the United Distillers umbrella and were yet to become Diageo - Caol Ila did not have an official bottling of single malt to offer. In fact this 12-year old expression was only launched as a "flagship" or "core" bottling in 2002, while there was a fleeting 15-year old single malt that debuted in 1989 as part of the Flora & Fauna series of bottlings, plus a couple of very limited and now-legendary releases as part of the Rare Malts Collection - that era's equivalent of the now-annual Diageo Special Releases. Nowadays you'll mostly only find unpeated Caol Ila bottlings in those releases, with the notable recent exceptions of the apparently (I haven't had the pleasure myself) excellent 30- and 35-year old cask strength bottlings, plus the Distiller's Edition and the 25-year old that round out the core range. You could easily argue that this quiet workhorse of a distillery has been a little neglected - maybe even underappreciated - for quite some time, with its sizeable contribution to mass-produced blended whiskies getting most of the attention, while single malts from the distillery tend to be better looked after by the independent bottlers. But that's no bad thing, because some of those "indy" versions - Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory Vintage and Elements of Islay come to mind, plus many others - are spectacular, particularly at cask strength and when naturally presented.

Another issue with this 12-year old, at least in Australia, is the pricing. For a 12-year old single malt on its own merit it's not ridiculously priced, but it's often overshadowed by the Islay mainstay that is Lagavulin 16-year old. On Australian shelves the Caol Ila can be found for anywhere between $105-125 AUD, while the Lagavulin can be found for somewhere between $110-120, but is frequently put on special for less. Both are chill filtered and artificially coloured, both are bottled at 43% ABV, and both are produced in relatively massive numbers. For many novices and casual drinkers, and also quite a few enthusiasts I'm sure, that makes for an easy choice - they're going to go for the older whisky that also has the more familiar name and the larger following. Strangely, if you'll permit the slight digression, things are far more clear-cut when it comes to the official Distiller's Edition bottlings - while the Moscatel dessert wine cask-finished Caol Ila ranges from $120-150 AUD, the PX sherry cask-finished Lagavulin won't be found for under $180, and is usually seen at $200. Both are only around a year older than their standard versions, and again both whiskies are chill filtered, artificially coloured, and bottled at 43%. That situation makes for a much easier decision, particularly since (in my opinion) the Caol Ila is the better whisky, although many will probably still go for the more familiar name with the larger following that also makes for a better "status symbol". So if the pricing of the standard expressions were similarly spaced - and for largely selfish reasons I'd rather they decreased the cost of the Caol Ila, rather than increasing that of the Lagavulin - the Caol Ila would quite likely enjoy more of a following in the Australian "scene".

As much as I love Lagavulin, it's also the more divisive whisky to the novice and amateur palate, while Caol Ila's trademark lighter grassy character and softer peat and smoke levels, particularly when served at lower strengths, undoubtedly make for more of a "crowd pleaser". And it makes for a far better introduction to peated Islay whiskies than the more commonly chosen Lagavulin 16 or Laphroaig 10 that are the equivalent of being thrown straight in to the deep end of a swimming pool. Many wouldn't guess that both Caol Ila and Lagavulin use identical malted barley, sourced from the Diageo's Port Ellen Maltings of course, and malted to the same specification at 35 ppm of phenols. The huge differences in style come down to fermentation times and distillation speeds, as well as the size and shape of the stills, and the chosen fill levels and cut points of those stills. Like many of Diageo's official bottlings, you won't find any decent information out there about what casks this Caol Ila has spent its 12-years (minimum) of maturation inside. Which in most cases means that it's been mostly refill ex-bourbon casks, probably re-coopered into larger hogsheads, which is the case with this example. As mentioned above it is both chill filtered and artificially coloured, but I suspect there is far less E150A involved in this case than there is in some of the other Classic Malts - in particular the entry level bottlings from Lagavulin & Talisker.

Caol Ila 12-year old, 43% ABV. Islay, Scotland.
Likely matured in refill ex-bourbon hogsheads. Chill filtered and artificially coloured.

Colour: Medium gold. Certainly lighter in the E150 department than many entry level malts.

Nose: Trademark Caol Ila, sweet, grassy and softly peaty. There's a little coastal 'ozone' (distant ocean) and salt, and some old bandages, plus a sweet, floral and grassy malty-ness, a little liquorice, and that soft, slightly muddy peat.

Texture: Light weight. Clean, gentle and balanced, but there's still enough peat & smoke here - it's still very much a peated Islay malt. No heat to this one either.

Taste: Soft & sweet entry, then a lovely dry, spicy peat with a touch of ashy smoke. That salt and those old bandages are still there, as is the sweet grassy malt and liquorice. It's dryer here than the nose suggested.

Finish: Short-medium length. More soft, dry, spicy peat, and that grassy malt, plus some lemon juice, soft ashy smoke and a little brine. That sweet, grassy spirit with a bit of salted lemon wind things up.

Score: 3 out of 5.

Notes: A perfectly enjoyable, easy drinking Islay dram. And the perfect introductory dram for the peat / peated Islay newcomer, without the need for them to jump straight into the deep end where they can only either sink or swim. This is the gentler side of Islay, along with Bowmore 12 perhaps, but this Caol Ila does a better job of it in my humble opinion. A cleaner, brighter and clearer whisky that will still keep the more seasoned Islay fans happy. As far as the current range of official bottlings go, I think it's a shame that Caol Ila dropped their NAS 'Natural Cask Strength' expression - which happened nearly a decade ago. Since then, you can only really get an official bottling of Caol Ila at 43% ABV, and they're all chill filtered - even in the 25-year old guise. Well, unless you can visit the distillery itself (or the auction sites) and grab one of their excellent Distillery Exclusive or Feis Ile bottlings, that is.  So if you're wanting a Caol Ila with a little more punch and a little more texture, you'll need to turn to the independent bottlers.

For now, if you're searching for this style of Caol Ila at a higher strength then set your sights on Port Askaig 100 Proof, Blackadder Peat Reek, or some of the excellent cask strength bottlings from the likes of Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory Vintage or North Star. But to reiterate, the entry level 12-year old official bottling never fails to please when you're in the mood for a lighter, more summery peated Islay dram, and extra points must be awarded for consistency. It never seems to disappoint.

Cheers!