2014 Caol Ila Limited Release 30 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Distilled in 1983 then matured in a combination of refill American and refill European oak casks, this is the oldest Caol Ila ever released by Diageo. 7,638 bottles are on offer worldwide. Beautifully packaged.

Tasting note: Brilliant gold. A pussycat on the nose with cashmire-soft peat. Builds significantly with exposure developing sweet herb-laced peat. A smouldering porpourri over hints of tea biscuits,lanolin, menthol and background vanilla. Fresh and lively, especially given three decades in oak, and deceptively intense; a seamless fusion of soft smoke and vanillan malt, lifted by peppermint lozenge and rounded off with a salty, spicy, peppermint / menthol / lanolin fade. Not super long, but belies its age. One of the most elegant peated whiskies going around. 55.1% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... The nose opens with starch and savoury notes, then hickory wood smoke, brine and iodine. Oily and sweet on the palate, with olives and black pepper. Brine, thick peat, liquorice sticks and a medicinal note in the lengthy finish.
4 Stars - www.whisky-pages.com

...More smoke than is common from this distillery and age. The aromas are food-related: initially roast ham with caramelized sugars, then a clambake, then oven-roasted lobster. With water, a distinct whiff of the goat shed (nice, by the way). The palate is refined and mature, but with fresh fruits retained, with oak and smoke beautifully integrated. A mature Caol Ila in similar vein to the excellent (and significantly more keenly priced) 25 year old. (7,638 bottles)
90 points - www.maltadvocate.com, (Winter 2014) Reviewed by: Dave Broom