Caol Ila 14yo b.2022 (53%, OB Four Corners of Scotland Collection bottled for the distillery shop & malts.com, Refill and Freshly Charred Hogsheads, 3000b): final souvenir from Islay. Nose: a quintessential Caol Ila, in which fishing nets are frolicking with caster sugar, lukewarm kippers on toast are mingling with scrambled eggs, and honey-glazed cockles are swimming with smoked whelks. Mind you, it also has an ashy cast-iron grille and matte-dark-green modelling paint (Humbrol #149). Deeper nosing unveils plasticine left out to harden, and, of course, lemon peels -- or citron or calamansi, since it is neither too bitter, nor overtly acidic. Finally, we spot lukewarm Styrofoam (think: packing peanuts). The second nose rolls out more citrus (lemon-scented washing-up liquid comes to mind, even), salt water and seafood of various sorts (oysters). At the last minute, all that is matched, if not eclipsed, by smoked apricots. Yum! Mouth: on the palate too, it is an archetypal Caol Ila, with fishing nets and crisp citrus, seafood, and a drop of petrol, all augmented with a generous sprinkle of caster sugar. Chewing puts the emphasis on the petrol, and twists it to bring it close to tarry sands. One can picture the rainbow-like colouring petrol makes in a puddle of water. This is bold and assertive without losing a certain balance, without turning vulgar. The second sip is warm, with embers and burning charcoal that sea water fails to extinguish. That generates a lot of smoke, in turn used to smoke mussels and preserved lemons. It is frankly lemon-y, at this point. Finish: the petrol, here, converges with ink, and, if it is not a 1965 Ardbeg, it is not the first time a Caol Ila hits similar notes to the third smokehouse on the road to Kildalton. This is long, teeming with sea water, squid ink, smoked whelks, fishing nets boiled in sea water, and caster sugar heated in a copper or cast-iron pot, but not caramelised. Tarry sands rock up via retro-nasal olfaction, and the death brings the same feeling to the gob as smoking a citrus-y cigar. The second gulp is perhaps even bolder. It brings about burnt wood, extinguished with either marsh water extracted from a peat bog, or vase water. In any case, it works really well. This time, it is smoky cigarette ash that closes the proceedings. I reckon Gaija would love this. 8/10
Caol Ila 30yo 1984/2014 (52.8%, The Ultimate Whisky Company The Ultimate Rare Reserve, Hogshead, C#6261, 228b, b#42): leftover from a tasting last November. Nose: although clearly from the same stable, this is much sweeter and fruitier. Kumquat, peach, nectarine, as well as sherbet. We have a drop of citrus-scented washing-up liquid in a (yellow) plastic basin full of warm salt water. That may read strange, yet it works a treat. Behind all that is billowing cigarette smoke (light tobacco), blended with strawberry chewing gum. It creates a secondary-schoolyard atmosphere that triggers a mix of emotions. That tobacco, for example, is usually a turn-off for tOMoH, but it works, here. The second nose seems drier and focusses more on tobacco smoke (fag, rather than cigar or pipe), yet it recoups some fruit shortly thereafter -- fresh strawberries, now. Mouth: much mellower, it also feels less smoky and maritime than its sibling. Instead, we find sweetness: cherry-filled waffles (not turnovers, that do not have the same dough at all), golden choux dough, and enough sea water to help one remember we are not in Speyside (nor in Kansas, Dorothy). Chewing pours fine salt on a hot tin tray (unlike a Clynelish, which pours cats on a hot tin roof), and adds hot strawberry coulis and a dash of melted dark chocolate. Only in the background does one notice smoked seafood -- Gaston Lagaffe's famous cod in a strawberry sauce comes to mind, and it is appealing, today. The second sip doubles down on seafood and strawberry, and, if it tastes closer to cockles than to cod, it quite clearly strays towards the latter with time, firm, juicy and fishy. It develops a chalky quality, in time, without losing the fruit. Smoked Dextro Energy tablets. There. Finish: the closest it comes to the fourteen-year-old, this delivers burnt wood extinguished with murky water. At first, it is hard to tell if said water is from a vase, tainted by mud and floating algae, or salt water heavy with sand. After a minute, it no longer matters, owing to the arrival of baked nectarines, the juices of which are collected from a metallic baking tray. They are sprinkled with both salt and sugar, much to one's satisfaction. The second gulp has soluble fruit-flavoured energy tablets for a couple of seconds, until boggy clay hits like a ton of bricks, and opens the way for sherbet in vase water. Excellent dram. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, cavalier66)
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