Nose: Wonderful nose with sherry, vanilla and light peat.
Palate: sherry, peat, peppers...sweet and spicy and smoky and even a bit salty, just a great flavor profile.
Finish: The pepper dominates the finish, but there's a nice wine-tinged smoke on the nose, then a bit of a medicinal note, then salt water, like you just went swimming in a sweet and smoky ocean.
Fantastic stuff, well balanced, complex, full of well mingled flavors.
Palate is gently smokey and earthy, semi-dry with figs and dark dried fruits, a little tangy, very very nice. Finish continues that with sweet tobacco ending the long fade, some of that menthol-eucalyptus thing, and good medicine.
Really nice and immensely pleasing, peated and satisfying without being a crotch-kicker. Unusual extra dimensions bring it to A-. Fair price makes this a must-buy for those who can get it.
N: Smokey peat with strawberries, bacon fat, dirty old oil lamp. P: Sweet and unusual peat, its got a green wood / grass note to it that is real interesting (and tasty). Quite peaty and oily. F: Sweetness drips off the tip of the tongue, finishes without any ashy / campy notes.
N: Light influence of smoke, a nice orchard aroma with ripe Fuji apples, a little bit of denser red fruity notes, a touch of prune, lightly waxy and a touch buttery.
P: Light initially but gaining some oily weight. Light dry smokiness balances with some waxy apple notes, a gentle wood influence. Light and gentle peppery spice. Some pleasing light apple tartness as well.
F: A little smokiness on the top end, slightly drying, nice rich fruitiness. A little apple cider and some more pepper zip.
Immensely drinkable, a great aged Caol Ila. The finish is really enjoyable. I wasn't initially blown away by it, but the lighter cider notes just kill me and make me want more. That said, just a touch short of my personal A-range.
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