#217: Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve

We wraped up our review of Michael Sandel's book The Tyranny of Merit on this ponder. Overall the crew found some food for thought but it definitely was not the left wing heavy hitter that Simon was hoping for based on the title and author. Scott is picking our next book shortly, we're looking forward to it!

Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve, no-age statement, 59.6% abv, $180 CAD, unpeated Islay single malt.

We're sniffing:

Scott smells Speyside on the nose, apples mostly.

Simon agrees, lots of apple-y, honey/lemon lozenger. Malt candy.

Little salty Trevor says.

Kyle goes for apple cider/white wine note.

Sean gets a citrus but not lemon. Ginger. Hint of smoke.

There's a debate whether the nose is smooth or hot.

We cheers.

Powerful.

Malt forward, honey type of sweetness Simon says. The apples are there but backgrounded.

The heat is overpowering for Trevor. Hopefully it cools down. Over all it's mostly copy paste from the nose.

Malt candy/throat candy.

There's a dryness to the feel on this one Simon says. Bitter dry finish Scott adds.

Simon added some water and the apples pop more. Heat goes away. Much more tame. Not sure that it's better but it's different.

Sean pulls some caramel, baking spices, banana, dried fruits, agrees with the heat comments but it's still palatable. Leather, smoke. Water brings out some peach/apricot notes.

Reviews: Scott starts us off with 78. Flavors on the palate are more impressive than he was expecting. Pretty intense but it's got a good balance of malty and sweet flavors. He doesn't see himself reaching for it though, he likes his Caol Ila peated. Simon likes the tasting notes but it doesn't come together super well, it's a little hot. Pins it at 77. Trevor matches that 77. It's tasty but a little too hot. Kyle puts a 72 on it. Sean wraps it up with 77. Averages out to 76.2.

Overall: This does poorly on the value scale. It's decent whisky, we're going to enjoy the rest of our sample, but not something any of us will be looking to purchase a bottle of. Similar review to the Caol Ila 15 unpeated we did a few months ago.

Cheers!

The S&P Crew.