07/12/2021 Saint Nicaol, one day late

Caol Ila 13yo 2007/2020 (50.9%, CWC The Electric Coo Series, ex-Ruby Port Hogshead): nose: a balanced marriage of peat and fortified wine. At first nosing, it seems as though the wine has the upper hand, though that may soon change... and, indeed, it sort of does: twenty minutes in, the nose has transformed into a muddy farmyard, with muck and mud happily mingling, hams, hung in the loft to dry, hay bales and barbecue sauce. The wine-y touch has not entirely disappeared, though, and, if we have lard, it is wine-marinated lard. Cured ham and pastrami slowly emerge, herbaceous and comforting. Later on, the nose becomes dryer and more coastal, those two aspects not being mutually exclusive. It showcases sea breeze and drying fishing nets, letting the distillery markers transpire at last. The second nose reveals roasted coffee beans and sun-baked rubber -- think: old tyres. Mouth: big, smoky and wine-y, this has barbecue written all over it, with wine-marinated meat slowly roasting on the grill, and attended by a bloke drinking copious amounts of heady red wine. The palate is also savagely earthy (again: red wine), tannic, drying, and not unlike tarmac. That earthiness very much takes the lead from the second sip on, and this taster is glad that red chilli pepper grows in intensity, so as to balance said earthiness a little, lest it becomes borderline too invasive. Finish: assertive, not cocky, it is unexpectedly petrolic, here, though more in a rubber or tyre sort of way than diesel or engine oil. Retronasal olfaction gives more smoke (burnt-rubber smoke, of course), scorched earth and a bonfire made of fishing nets, oilskins and a fisherman's rubber boots. This uncompromising finish is not for the faint of heart. The bold burnt rubber is a bit much and will probably only work in small doses for anyone who is not a NASCAR fan. The ex-Bourbon cask selected by Mark Watt was more to my taste (this one was selected by David Stirk). 7/10