Skip to content
  • Home
  • Whisky Top 10
  • Tasting Notes
  • About Thijs
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Whisky Top 10
  • Tasting Notes
  • About Thijs
  • Contact
logo
caol ila 1997 unpeated

Caol Ila 1997 ‘Unpeated Style’ (2010)

13 April 2015 1 comment Article Caol Ila, Islay, Scotland, Tasting Notes

Last week I tasted two mystery drams (which means I tasted them blind), sent to me by Geert. They turned out to be the Glenmorangie Quarter Century and The Dalmore King Alexander III. Both were good but not great, and in my opinion not worth buying. Today I review the third and last mystery dram. This one turns out to be a lot more agreeable. Hell, I was thoroughly impressed. I actually already bought a whole bottle, just hours after I finished my sample.

Caol Ila 1997 ‘Unpeated Style’ (57,6%, OB, 2010)

Nose: This is supposed to be unpeated, but it certainly doesn’t smell that way. There is plenty of peat, or at least campfire smoke and smoked bacon, but it is not overpowering. Some lovely crisp newspaper and brine as well. Also chestnuts, vanilla and a nice oakiness. In the end there is a hint of sugary sweetness.
Taste: Smoky, malty and plenty of smoked barley and toasted oak. A nice saltiness as well. In a way it reminds me of much older Caol Ila, maybe even a salute to Caol Ila from the early eighties.
Finish: Long, with smoked salmon and black pepper.

Rating: 88

I was happy to find out that this mystery dram was an affordable Caol Ila, and not some über-expensive, unattainable whisky. I do wonder how it is possible that an alleged unpeated whisky can taste so peaty or smoky. It can’t be because of the use of refill casks, because only first fill bourbon casks were used. So the only other option is that they probably don’t put much effort into cleaning the equipment before running a batch of unpeated whisky through the stills. Anyway, whatever the reason, the most important thing is, that this is a very good and (if you can still find it) very affordable cask strength Caol Ila.

 

Thijs Klaverstijn Kingairloch 3
Thijs Klaverstijn

Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.

Tags: 1997, caol ila, cask strength, islay, unpeated style

1 comment

  • Mark @ Malt 13 April 2015 at 21:00 - Reply

    Nice. Glad you liked this Caol Ila – the distillery is one of my secret favourites, and I think the unpeated whiskies from them are really interesting. Also good to note that the prices of these seem pretty reasonable too, all things considered.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr

Most popular posts

  • old rhosdhu loch lomond 1990 29yo whiskynerds Old Rhosdhu 1990 29 Years (WhiskyNerds)
  • whiskydudes fettercairn miltonduff girvan Girvan 2006, Miltonduff 2009 & Fettercairn 2008 (Whiskydudes)
  • Glendronach cask (flickr ti yab) GlenDronach Is A Lot Older Than The Label Says
  • tamdhu 12yo Tamdhu 12 Years (2020)
  • glenlivet 12yo illicit still Glenlivet 12 Years Illicit Still (2020)

Recent blog posts

  • Upcoming: Blind Tasting Competition
  • Sexism & Misogyny in our Whisky Community
  • Monologue: Waterford’s Mark Reynier on Biodynamics & Terroir
  • Why The Whiskybase Gathering Should Be On Your Bucket List
  • Visiting Ballindalloch Distillery: Tradition & Patience in Speyside

Copyright Words of Whisky 2021