Caol Ila Distillery, Scotland     founded: 1846 | active
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Quite a pungent nose, and almost disconcerting. Lemon, apricot and (baked) apple make up the fruity contigent as heather grows on the sidelines, plotting. Lots of talks about Clan Chiefs and the history of Scotland, for some reason. There's a distinct creaminess, gradually turning into the feeling of processed cheese. Certainly not a punch in the nose - it's there, but it's not like a big punch of anything. Syrupy, but that low kind of syrupy. Someone's got the fairy liquid out and cat biscuits make an un-called-for appearance. It wouldn't really be a Caol Ila nose without the smell of the sea, and the nose here is heavily infused with (smoked) mackerel and seaweed. More like a Miasma - many agree.

Really smooth, we could drink it forever - quite a cool, light colour as well. The creamy fruitiness of the nose is padded out here: now it's (dried) apple, orange, vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate. "A surprising number of people in my school are from Zimbabwe". Intensely drinkable. Salted caramel on the tongue and ground coffee for afters - the feeling in your mouth 5 minutes after eating those chocolate-covered coffee beans. Is it like Dimitri? Don't go there! It even makes a wee trip towards the Orient as wafts of pot pouri and smoked paprika take hold. You have no idea! Almost a sibling-like relationship (with the whisky?) - everyone agrees, already feels like an old friend (yeah it does!).

Longer than the authorities would have you believe! There's a seriously smokey length, but do the other flavours dissipate quickly? Hard to say, it's a lovely ending though (and the consensus seems to be 'medium-long'). It's quite medicinal on the finish, perhaps some TCP wafting away. Shorter than a long thing stretched down a long tunnel - Shorter than a stupid dwarf! I can't imagine a decent description but tastes almost like a friend's lack of imagination - bitterness, because it's still quite long (they're wrong!) - almost like a war cry - MOCH! Saltier here too, as the rich sweetness gradually dissipates, although you just can't quite shake off a feeling of fruit cake. How often do you come across a pile of worms? It's alive when you eat it - it moves around on the plate in waves of wood smoke. Oh man, we all want more.

~£37 (70cl)

Whisky Exchange - Caol Ila Moch   |   http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/selection/ca

We've always scored out of 10 in our group (see number in red box, below), with scores regularly given across that spectrum. The value out of 100 below is adjusted to the scale most commonly used for whisky reviews, to allow for better comparison.

92 / 100