Caol Ila Unpeated: like fish without chips?
Diageo surprised the enthusiastic lovers of whisky in general and Islay in particular, by releasing an unpeated Caol Ila in 2006 as part of their annual Special Releases series. It was something to take in. Caol Ila without peat, is that not the same as fish without chips? Superman without Lois Lane? Yin without yang? As it turns out, we all discovered, Caol Ila has been making an unpeated style for quite some years, sometimes also known as the Highland Style. This happened for the blenders, to have something of high quality in the portfolio, but without the peat, of which you need little to influence a blend strongly.
According to my research on Whiskybase, some 13 different versions were released, the last one in 2018. It is set to return to the Special Releases series this year (2024). I have to admit, I liked these experimental bottles. I drank most of my stash, but there was still one early bottle lurking in the back of my cabinet, and one sample of a different one in my sample drawer. Here we go, as we aim to inform you on whether or not to dip your toe in on unpeated Caol Ila!
Caol Ila 8 years old, bottled at 64,9 % abv
Makeup: Matured in first fill bourbon casks, this 8 year old unpeated Caol Ila was bottled in 2007 in a batch of 9690 bottles.
General impressions: Impossible to nose, so we will skip that until we have put in some water, and start with the palate. This is dominated by a good dose of vanilla, and not much else. Very austere, like Caol Ila can be even with the normal peated appearance. Only after putting in some good splashes of water, the whisky opens up. Lots of lemons, yellow flowers, Islay gorge, vanilla and a slight candied whiff. Giving it some time, this Caol Ila than starts cosplaying like a Clynelish, with a waxy note that made me think of a Clynelish ‘distillery only’ bottling. In the end, this is very floral and light, which serves the purpose of being a blend filler with strong backbone. The taste greatly improves too with some water, releasing yellow fruit, some pineapple and grapefruit, and also gummi bears. On the finish, I could swear there is a maritime, peaty note, more leaning towards something salty. The vanilla is omnipresent. In the end, this is an extremely fresh and clean whisky.
Conclusion: Fantastic bourbon matured whisky, indeed with a big Highland signature. To me, it would be impossible to put this on Islay, which maybe proves that whisky has little to do with terroir. This could easily pass as a Clynelish or light Dailuaine that we tasted recently (blog coming next week, stay tuned).
Score: 85 points
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Caol Ila 17 years old, bottled at 55,9 % abv
Makeup: Yes indeed, that is a whole 9 percent difference in abv! And almost 10 years longer in the cask. Matured in ex-bourbon casks, bottled at natural cask strength.
General impressions: Well, this is obviously much more mellow with a strong hint of apples on the nose. Some warm cake loaf just out of the oven, sponge with citrus influences. Again, like the youngling, so impressively clean. The taste is clean as well, leaning on fruity notes of (again) these apples, but there is a nice bitter influence from the wood, adding some complexity here. The aftertaste is rather dry. There is some unmistakable maritime character in there, making me eat my words about the terroir. On the other hand, confirming my words again, this could easily be mistaken for a Clynelish. Is that not a typically maritime whisky as well? With water more waxiness and yellow flowers, with sunflower oil that is heating up just before you start baking. The taste follows suit, really a Caol Ila pretending to be something else.
Conclusion: Lovely stuff, reminiscent of decent Clynelish. I know some people wondered why on earth would you produce an unpeated Caol Ila, but the quality speaks for itself. This is downright good stuff, clean and entertaining.
Score: 88 points
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