🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Well, this is, to say the least, a very unusual Caol Ila, more like a rum. Well, this is lovely! 22 23 22 22

I have no idea what's wrong with this bottle. It smells like superglue, tastes like superglue, and has a superglue-like aftertaste... Nothing like what's in the notes...

"Wow" is all I can say after the first sip. Such a wonderful gentleman in a glass. The peat has dissipated beautifully, and together with the fruity notes, it creates a truly harmonious overall impression.

I bought the whisky for myself and to share with someone. For the share, I opened it and poured the contents directly into a glass. It doesn't have much time in the glass, and my first impression wasn't great. At first, it reminded me a lot of a bourbon: the sticky nose was extremely pronounced. That's subsided now after a week. But to me, it's neither recognizable as Caol Ila nor as Oloroso. If I were blind, I would have guessed it was a red wine aged in the Highlands.

I agree with Poppi here. A strong glue or rubbery note is very noticeable in this whisky. A thick sweetness lingers, which unfortunately doesn't improve the overall result. For me, this whisky has some flaws.

After a week of walking together, here are a few additions to my initial experiences (below)... The best part: it's developing in the right direction. The fog is lifting, and now I'd say I could guess it's a whisky in a blind tasting. But I wouldn't guess Caol Ila. Based on the initial impression of the smoke, I'd place it at the intensity of a Springbank, Benromach, or at most a Hard Rock. So, somewhere between 3 and 12 ppm, it feels like. However, if you move it a bit more roughly across your tongue for a few seconds, the smoke gets a little boost. But because of the red fruit sweetness, my mind doesn't want to connect it to Caol Ila. With a bourbon cask, that would probably be different. My main issue remains this intense fruit sweetness that lingers on the finish. That's not for me. Nevertheless, it's a good whisky. It's probably still too early, but I'll venture a rating based on the other products in this series. I haven't tried #1 yet. #2 is outstanding. #3 is very good. #4 is close behind. #5... is slightly behind with one point less than #4 and currently gets a solid 87 points from me. *****Original Impressions***** Tilo has once again bottled something truly special for us. The initial reviews range from 81 to 92...? To be clear, I haven't given a rating yet, just my first impressions. I opened it yesterday in the late afternoon and poured a first dram for this evening. Of course, I took a sniff as a first impression. Phew, what's this? Glue with the appearance of something fizzy in the glass. Is there a hint of sulfur? Or are these rather strange yeasty notes? Well, I had shaken the bottle thoroughly before opening it and pouring. It's a habit of mine to give the whisky a little 'kick-start' in terms of oxygen. After half an hour in the glass, I took another sniff. Where's the smoke, anyway? The gluey note is completely gone, but that bright red fruity note with yeast has intensified. It doesn't really smell like whisky. It took a while, but then I could identify the familiar note. The smell of an under-fermented wine. Red Federweißer, also called Federroter in some regions. That also fits with the impression of a tingle. The first contact with the tongue is as special as the nose. A tingling sensation here too. Not from the alcohol. You don't notice it. Sweet and mildly fruity, like a liqueur. I once infused mirabelle plums with the pits in mild rum with rock candy. This stuff reminds me of that taste of a rum-soaked, overripe mirabelle. A hint of smoke emerges in the finish. But not on the level I'm familiar with from a Caol Ila 18-year-old. Well, the distillery does produce 'smoke-free' spirits. Could this spirit have come from one of those transitional phases? Personally, I find the whisky initially lacking in whisky and too cloyingly sweet. However, since all the previous whiskies (except for #4) have continuously changed as the bottle's fill level decreased, it will surely offer a few more exciting surprises. The gluey note is already gone from the open bottle today. However, something else caught my eye while shaking the bottle further. For almost 47% ABV, the whisky foams exceptionally well. Normally, a lot of foam that lasts a long time is said to indicate a high alcohol content. Here, the foam lasts longer, and there's more foam overall than with any of the other open bottles I have in my cupboard. It doesn't surprise me that the whisky is polarizing. However, I sometimes wish that reviews were based on multiple tastings on different days.

Tasted on May 23rd as part of a tasting (3rd dram, after a Benrinnes 16J 52.8%). I have rarely experienced a single malt with such extreme contrasts. The nose is disappointing, the taste an absolute explosion, and the finish lands somewhere in between in terms of quality.