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#163: Caol Ila 15 (2018)

Writer's picture: S&PS&P

It's windy and rainy out here for Halloween week in Ontario. Runny noses are rampant in our children ladden homes, and we're staring at the leaves grounded and still hanging to gauge optimal raking time. There's some pretty colors though. Half green half orange half red half brown. My chrysanthemums and neon bright zinnias are clashing with my wife's bloody zombies and murderous clowns. That time of the year.


We're drinking Caol Ila 15 tonight 2018 edition. The crew was impressed with Caol Ila 12 back in April, So we pulled the trigger on this one. It's unpeated though, so we're not sure what to expect.


Caol Ila 15 (2018): 59.1% ABV, $195 CAD, ex-Bourbon and ex-Bodega casks, Upeated Islay.


We sniff around:


We're looking for the ''crisp notes of fresh peach dancing boldly across the tongue like flecks of foam over wind-lashed waves.'' Good luck finding those peaches at your grocery store.


Simon gets the peach on the nose, like fuzzy peaches.


Scott gets saltier notes. Some hay. Some lighter notes.


It's a tough nose, pretty hot.


Simon pulls some candied malt notes, honey lozenges.


Sean also finds that maltiness. It's a sweet nose, doesn't want to call it peach, but very sweet.


We cheers.


Scott gets that peach. He wouldn't say it's dancing though.


The saltiness pops more to Simon on the palate than the nose. He gets that malt candy note too. There's some added complexity to it. Some hay notes.


Sean pulls a peach iced tea note.


Potent scotch.


Trevor says it's overwhelmingly peachy to him. Salt comes through on the finish.


Scott finds a bitter note on the finish.


Reviews: Trevor starts us off. He says it's hard to put a number on. The peach note is interesting and unique. It's enjoyable, it's potent. Not very complex but does a couple things well. It deserves an 82 he says. Simon agrees on the hard to rate. His experience having had this a few times ranges between 78-88. The flavors are great everytime, but the heat is a bit much. Will likely be drinking the rest of his sample adding water right away. It takes water very well though. He's going to stamp an 83 on it for now. Kyle's the highest bidder tonight at 87. He likes the heat on this one. Not overwhelming, feels good. He likes the peach notes. Feels nice on the throat, good for when you're feeling sick. Sean is at 80. He likes the flavors but the heat is a bit too much, needs to add a bit of water for optimal enjoyment. Scott is at 79. He likes the peach, but it's pretty simple. Really potent, not something he'll reach out for frequently, and he can't help wondering what it would be like peated. We average out to 82.2.


Overall: This doesn't rate as well as Caol Ila 12 with us actually. Going forward we'll be looking more for the peated Caol Ila's. This isn't a bad scotch by any means but it's hot and at that price point we've got a bunch of higher rated options.


Cheers!

The S&P Crew.

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