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Caol Ila 12 Year Old Reviews
- Distillery
- Caol Ila
- Style
- Single Malt
- Release
- Unspecified
- Age
- 12 Years
- Alcohol
- 43% abv.
- Region
- Scotland, Islay
- Bottled For
- Distillery
- Buy Now $45.79 WineChateau.com
- see all offers
A brand new, younger bottling of this malt which has been an Oddbins favourite for many years. Not the heaviest of the Islay clan, but certainly one of the most beguiling.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Eddie
- Color
- White Wine
- Nose
- Smoke, peat and more Smoke and then Seaweed also the smell of the sea coast after a storm.
- Body
- Full Rich and oily.
- Palate
- This ones not easy, Smoked Fish, toffee a little Barley and sweet Spice. also the taste of buttered veggies.
- Finish
- Long, Sweet Smoky, very Good
This one suprised me, Most comments were average, middle of the road, but I found it different. A lot of flavors and they changed often. First taste a lotta smoke and then the sea came in then Smoked kippers Salt. sweet candy, barley grass and then ten minutes later sweet, salt, floral. This one was very complex for me but I did like it alot but then I love the Islands. (Especially ISLAY.)
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Williamson
- Color
- White port
- Nose
- Penetrating aroma of iodine, hospital, salmon and bacon.
- Body
- Thick, oily.
- Palate
- Salty bacon, medicinal flavors, a hint of flowers and oak. Warm and, in a good way, demanding. Much peat, barbecue and more iodine.
- Finish
- Long finish, passing gently.
This isn't Dostojewski, and it itsn't Stephen King either. This is everyone's friend, a worthy dram to say the least.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Frombeyond
- Color
- light straw
- Nose
- citrus, fish, green olive,smoke peat, medicine etc...
- Body
- full and slightly oily
- Palate
- smoke and salt
- Finish
- long finish with more salt and nice dryness
Not as complex as I was hoping for, but very nice. If you love salt and smoke, you'll love this dram. However, there are better scotches like Bowmore 12 yr and Laphroig 10 yr that rival this at a cheeper price
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by ColoradoDram
- Color
- Light chardonnay.
- Nose
- Light smoke, honey, wet refined sugar, slightly floral.
- Body
- Light bodied, crisp and tight. Definitely a deviation from some the oily/creamy Islays.
- Palate
- Bitter smoke, peppery sweet. An exercise in contrasts. Evens out with a touch of water and also gains some complexity.
- Finish
- Medium length, medium hot. Flavor-wise a nice spicy peppery tingle permeates the mouth and a dry licorice/anise breath follows. The finish is this scotch's place to shine.
If you like smokey Islays like I do, this a good reminder why. A few drops of water and some patience provide a more balanced (and complex) taste and more peppery finish while not squelching the nice licorice afterbreath.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- translucent white wine
- Nose
- grass, laundry basket. citrus peel, barn, malt
- Body
- oily and delicate.
- Palate
- malt, carrot cake, sugar,grain, peat.
- Finish
- nice rise & expanding plateau Roller coasters into a splash of peat.
A lot of taste. Light, overall a good dram.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- Avslagen folköl
- Nose
- Aska!
- Body
- Varm aksha, bränner i halsen,
- Palate
- Skogsbrand!
- Finish
- Efterĺnga, det ĺngar liksom upp i gommen.
Now we're off to to play pool! Love M
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Wtl.base
- Color
- Straw.
- Nose
- Light and floral. Peat and fresh smoke, some young vegetables.
- Body
- Medium.
- Palate
- Malt, dried apricot, a touch of fresh melon and a waff of peat. Great balance and a very clean feel.
- Finish
- Gentle peat and smoke. Exceptionally dry.
Compared to some other Islay malts of comparable age this one needs extra time and quiet or else its subtleties could easily be lost. Incidentally, I prefer this expression to the 18 yo for its freshness.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Dalton
- Color
- who cares, its light = no caramel coloring
- Nose
- fires, earth, cool bricks, lemon/lime
- Body
- light with diamondlike clarity, smooth mouthfeel, silky oils
- Palate
- The peat is balanced by the lemon/lime sweetness. There is a depth to the earthy quality which keeps this malt from tasting too much like lemonade.
- Finish
- lets you down with waves of smoky char, and just as it ends it kicks a little with the alcohol. Mmmmmmm phenolic
this is one of my current favorites, up there with Bruichladdich Peat, Bruichladdich 12yr 1st ed., and Cadenhead's Classic Islay ~ humm are they related?
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Anonymous
- Color
- LIGHT STRAW
- Nose
- SMOKE, PEAT, CITRUS,
- Body
- THICK, OILY
- Palate
- MALT, SMOKE, SALT, PEAT
- Finish
- LONG FINISH, SMOKY, EXCEPTIONALLY DRY
ROBBIE
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Eye-lah Guy
- Color
- Liquid gold in the glass
- Nose
- Delicate honey vanilla with charred oak undertones and iodine (Yes-this has spent all 12 years of it’s life on the salty, damp Islay coast and there’s no need to hide that fact)
- Body
- Medium; but serious as a heart attack
- Palate
- This exceptional malt seduces with a sultry sweet come-hither palate, which somehow insinuates itself just before the tip of your tongue meets the liquid, resembling Vermont Grade A Dark Amber as you swallow...
- Finish
- ...just before you’re ready to write it off as another trendy Islay that has bowed to Yankee pressure to “take the hospital taste out,” an attack of charred oak and smoky peat make a devastating one-two punch which obliterates the sweetness and sends you sprawling to the canvass in a dopey stupor.
This is what I crave from my Islays, man, I need a knockout-something so intense and overwhelmingly complex at the same time I require a ten-count to prove I’m still worthy- yet I count the seconds until my next pull. This mid-priced and exquisite dram serves up a stunning one-two punch, and makes my list of Divine Scotch Malts. A revelation at $54.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Shawn
- Color
- pale, no E150 (thank you Caol Ila)
- Nose
- Salty sea breeze, hint of peat but it not over powering, southern Wisconsin apple orchards in early fall
- Body
- Oily with beautiful secretary legs, thicker but not too thick
- Palate
- Sweet at the first touch of the tongue, but soon turns to a peppery burst. It's very well balanced between the two. There is also peat, wonderfully mixed on top of it all. The smoke and peat are never overbearing the other notes
- Finish
- The true shining point and the reason I drink Caol Ila regularly. Quite long and smokey, showing her Islay nature in the fullest form.
I love this whisky and am never without in my cabinet. While it tends to taste a little young as a 12yo, it's freshness as a young 12yo is also a draw. The finish is, in my opinion, the best part of this whisky and where she shines the most. Powerful and long, filled with smoke, autumn, and balance. I recommend this to every fan of an Islay whisky, complex, peated, with an air of sophistication.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Gargamel
- Color
- Pale straw
- Nose
- Malt, Peat, Crude, Simple
- Body
- Medium-full mouth feel, Hot and peppery
- Palate
- Spicy gingerbread, Sweet peat, Simple
- Finish
- Quick to come, Hot, Spicy, Long and dynamic, Earthy
Drink this one for its finish alone. No water.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Rasputin
- Palate
- Kelp, smoke, sea water, fruity, with a long, warming finish.
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Pick
- Color
- Golden waves of grain
- Nose
- Clean, sweet, and seabreezy... with a bit of smoke
- Body
- On the lighter side of Islay...
- Palate
- Smoky but refined... a sharp spicy smoke. The sea breeze presents itself after the spicy
at the beginning... and it begins to fade and even out soon after the swallow. An ever so slight medicinal quality exists throughout, but it's not easy to pick out with the other stuff going on... fairly complex dram - Finish
- Medium length and very warming... the spicy, peppery smoke, and warmth last for a lovely couple minutes
This is a really good one... not my favorite Islay (I prefer the south shore), but this one is not to be written off. I don't think it's a "must have in your collection at all times" kind of dram... but it's definitely worth going through a bottle or three a year :)
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Rocketeer
- Color
- light, nearly clear
- Nose
- smoky but not overly so
- Body
- smooth to start with a smoky finish
- Palate
- smoke, crisp not heavy
- Finish
- tends to smoky as it lingers
My son bought this for me in Scotland
Caol Ila 12 Year Old
Review by Julianne
- Color
- Amber, a bit lighter than most of Islay whiskys.
- Nose
- Not very distinctive - that comes with the taste. A little smoke and salt.
- Body
- Quite full.
- Palate
- At first quite mild, then comes a kick with the finish.
- Finish
- Peat, salt, smoke.
A very good peaty, smoky whisky.