Caol Ila 12 yo - Signatory Vintage 2006 - Cask 311565 - 55,9%
Photo taken somewhere in Paris
We find that those Signatory Vintage decanters always look very impressive on our shelf. Actually we much more prefer this plain but classy design over those over-chased bottles from a distinctive half-viking island on the north of scotland.
Nose
Islay at it's purest. We mean, really, this could be the element of Islay in the periodic system, with the sharpest and cleanest peat smoke you can get out of a peat briquette. Sea-salted, iodized lemons and limes, which bring out an almost crystalized freshness. New bookleather. There is also a lovely barbecued honey sweetness (one of the brighter kind).
With water: Getting sweeter, with vanillin sugar and roasted caramell. The fresh impression is further enhanced by pure oxygen.
Palate
By all the old lemon trees in the world, we find all sorts of citrus peels, which bring a beautiful bitternes. Vanilla cake, honeycomb and smoked wood. Also a few herbs, with parsley leading the way.
With water: A twist in the tale. expecting it to get smoother the peatiness actually increases- very interesting development indeed.
Finish
Long, pleasantly bitter and ultra medicinal. And when we say ultra, we mean "Laphroaig-can-go to-sleep-medicinal".
Rating
While enyoing this dram with closed eyes, it takes you straight to a rock on the coast of Islay, where some coast dwellers burn peat to warm their hands.
It's not the most complex malt, but so precise and distinctive. If you are on the hunt for "terroir" in whisky, you'll find it within this wee bottle.
