Caol Ila in the U.S.?

Fares to Europe are incredibly cheap till March. Holland seems to have the best prices. The official duty-free limit on return to the U.S. is officially 1 Litre, but in reality they don't care. And even if they did, the duty would be chump change. With this scheme, not only do you get to bring back lots of Caol Ila, but you also get to visit interesting places.

If it was one of the "official" bottlings of Caol Ila that you tasted you had best brace yourself - they are not imported to the U.S. In fact the only Owner's Bottling of Caol Ila that I'm aware of which has been imported is in the Rare Malts series, a group of expensive (some have suggested overpriced) bottles of some UDV malts, most of them twenty years old or older. I don't have the list of Rare Malts handy or I could check to see which in particular was imported. Many of the Rare Malts series were also released only in Europe, but I seem to recall a Caol Ila among the few which were released in the USA.

Now for the good news. Caol Ila is available from just about every independent bottler. I've had versions from Cadenheads, Gordon and Macphail, the Vintage Malt Whisky Co., and Signatory. It's also been bottled by Murray McDavid, but those weren't available on the local shelves. The newly available Whisky Galore series has a bottle but the local shop was unable to get any of that one. And just about any independent bottler you can name has bottled Caol Ila.

And in general, these independent bottlings have been very good. So you can experiment a bit with some confidence. But you will notice some difference between different bottlings. Caol Ila seems to have ranged from medium peaty to as peaty as Lagavulin; some are pungent and "olive-like" (in MJ's words), while some are clean and brightly smoky.

Hope this helps, and happy hunting.

Bart

I'll have to start looking for fares to Europe. The label said "Distillery Bottling" and there was no other bottler info on it.

It might be fun (and less expensive) to try some of these bottlings you mentioned. Thank you!

- Geoff

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Lagavulin; some are pungent and "olive-like" (in MJ's words), while some are clean and brightly smoky.

More good news and bad news. Caol Ila is generally terrific! What fabulous peat it has--and even if it's not over-the-top, it is a characterful winner. But I've had a couple bottlings in the past couple of years where the peat was not as wonderfully "clean and brightly smoky" as I like it--but had a sort of caramel-tinged dullishness that set the tone--to the point of making it a tired disappointment--something I don't blame the distillery for necesarily. One was a McKillops that I picked up in Spain or France. I love my Signatory UCF Caol Ila--and the Cooper's Choice that I have open now is also spiffy. If you find some, buy it!

have u tried

?

ms

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I didn't care for the G&M CC bottling I had. I don't recall the age and dates but it must have been bottled in around '95 to '97. It was the most "olive like" of any I've tasted. There was nothing wrong with it, my old friend Edd loved it, but it wasn't to my taste. Not surprisingly, in that I don't care for olives much.

I've had several Signatories. One of them from a few years ago had the dullness you describe. Another was excellent, another rather mild. I was particularly fond of a 7yo version. Youth can be a friend to Islay whiskies if you want the most aggressive peat smoke. I missed the UCF version. But so it goes - you can't get them all. There is still a Signatory "Vintage" version distilled in '90 or '91 on the shelves but I haven't tried it.

The old Coopers Choice, 12yo (1982) was the first Caol Ila I tasted and it was a good one. The faintest amber, almost water-white, but a beautiful Islay finish. Priced right too, so a high QPR. A later Vintage Malt Whisky Caol Ila at 16 years was good, but much drier - I liked the 12yo better.

I have yet to find a Caol Ila that showed any appreciable sherry influence. Only the GMCC might have had a little; then again it might not have. I take it that Caol Ila has seldom been aged in sherry wood.

Never tasted the old Flora and Fauna, nor any of the current three OB's. I haven't had the RM Caol Ila either, but I remember seeing it on the shelves a few years ago. There have been lots of Cadenheads at various ages - I think there's a current version now. Around '99 they bottled an

8yo which was very nice. It sold out so quicky that they bottled another 8yo within months of the first bottling. The second edition had a tag line on the label saying it was one of 210 bottles, the first bottling didn't. I slightly preferred the first version but never tried them head to head and honestly there was probably little difference between them.

Bart

There is still a Signatory "Vintage" version distilled in '90 or '91 on the shelves but I haven't tried it.

I have both, and the UCF is definitely cleaner and zestier, not to mention punchier.

The standard Caol Ila 15 year old distillery bottle is sadly no longer available. I too am near the end of this magnificent drink which I picked up at the Co-op in Bowmore, the year before last.

I picked up the nearest equivalent (18yr) at Fort William last year and though I've yet to taste them side by side, the last time I tried it, I didn't enjoy it as much.

Hi Geoff,

I did a vertical tasting of Caol Ila recently with many Independant bottling, the 3 new official bottling (12yo, 18yo & CaskStrength) and the old Flora & Fauna 15yo that you like.

From all of them, I prefered the Cadenhead 1989 56% (don't have the age) and the Murray McDavid 1989 in second place. The Signatory Unchillfiltered 1989

46% was pretty good too and well balanced.

I liked the old 15yo but since I tried Indys Caol Ila, I found some of them to be more breedy.

Slainte

Marty

I've recently been able to try two more Caol Ilas, one a Sig. UCF and the other a Murray McDavid.

The Signatory UCF is not the same one that has been discussed here before, I think, which was a 1989 if I recall correctly. The one I tried was a very recent bottling, from August 2003, of a 1991 vintage. It was a very clean, fresh, very nice example of Caol Ila with lots of peat on the palate but less on the finish. Very drinkable, I liked this one quite a bit.

The MMD was a 1989 euro bottling (70cl). More assertively peaty in the finish than the Sig. above, but what I really found its dominant characteristic was a blast of ozone. Like electric motors humming, a real "dynamo" of a whisky. I can see why Marty thought so well of this one.

So there's two more Caol Ilas on my list of "good ones" although only the Sig. UCF is available locally.

Bart