Caol Ila 12y with Dan

The unpronounceable Caol Ila (allegedly either ‘cool eye-la’ or ‘cull eela’ depending where you look) is another Malts.com brand, the web presence that covers Talisker, Dalwhinnie, Oban, Lagavulin and a host of other top-end scotches.  Their website is a little confusing, in that they show six different bottles but only detail four, while the LCBO search results show Gordon & MacPhail (a bottler), Dun Bheagan (a sort-of best-of & rarities label) and Wemyss Malts (a blender & bottler) entries as well as a few of their own.  Maybe they give over a portion of their output to other bottlers to spread the cost of distribution around.

smell
dan – peaty, fruity sweetness, soft caramel
simon – smokey & briney, leather, ethyl

neat
dan – salty, wood-smoked bacon, rubbing alcohol
simon – salt, red berries, hickory, medicinal

splash
dan – bitter. cuts smoke, bitter burn, lighter
simon – not better. completely unbalanced, sits in the mouth

Caol Ila 12y – 43% 1l – $79.95 – Islay

Try it? Nah. Buy it? No.