Caol Ila 1991 The Cooper’s Choice

So I bought the Fetercairn because I needed to. And I grabbed this one before I like Gummy Bears.

In behind the bar, a copper, candy coloured bottle caught my eye. And I wanted to know what it was. Not to mention I watched the cartoon “Gummy Bears” as a child, so I needed to get myself into trouble by asking.

What I discovered wasn’t some convoluted plot about berry juice hatched by an evil Baron/Duke, and rather was an IB of Caol Ila, Caol Ila 1991 The Cooper’s Choice.

Normally Copper’s Choice brings out whiskies from distilleries that aren’t normally released. I don’t really know how Caol Ila fits in. Yes, they are Diageo owned, and thus we don’t see too many releases (CS, 12, 18, maybe a special one). However every so often we do see more and more of them.

By Diageo standards, that makes them quite “out there”. None the less, a 20 year old Caol Ila? Yes, I’m in, let’s see howit tastes.

Price: N/A at the LCBO

Region: Islay

Abv: 46%

Bottled: 2012

Age: 20 years

Wood: Hogshead

Colour: Light yellow

Nose: Violets, nectarine, peach, mango, butterscotch, raisin

Big flavours here. Floral notes, lots of fruit, nice buttery/butterscotch flavours. All great. Well done, all in all.

Not a blast of peat to be found anywhere, which is so odd. Like it’s lost that or evolved in some way.

Taste: Peat, earth, anise, pepper, salmon, lemon peel, autumn days

Nope, there’s still peat. Got /u/biomortis hopes all raised up for nothing. Bunch of dirty mud suckers.

Really meaty too. Set off memories for me while drinking it. This is an amazing dram. Glad I spotted it.

Finish: Raspberry, smoke, truffle, peanut, sausages over the grill

Again, tons of complex flavours running the gambit. I actually have to stop myself from writing, because it just keeps coming.

Conclusion: One of the great whiskies of the trip so far. Really tasty, and does everything even at a lower Abv. Big flavours, lots of complexity, and a surprising nose that’s subtle without being useless.

Honestly why hasn’t there been an OB Caol Ila 20 year? This is too good to pass up.

87/100

Scotch review #280, Islay #63, Whisky network review #416