Caol Ila 22 – Feis Ile 2019 edition

Feis Ile 2019 yielded some nice distillery bottlings this year, this one’s especially intriguing, as you do not see many old OB Caol Ilas and certainly not at this ABV… A limited edition run of 3,000 & Matured in sherry-treated freshly-charred American oak hogshead , it was sold for £130 at the distillery. I was lucky to have tried this one head to head with other FE 2019 expressions.

Caol Ila 22 Years Old ,58.4%, Feis Ile 2019

Nose : ripe strawberries, cured meat, herbal and enticing. Soft smoke, seaweed, soft and light sherry sweetness, wood and more ripe berries engulfed in smoke, limestone, Kashmiri chilly, old wood and hint of iodine. 

Palate:  nice entry with spicy peppery notes, glazed bacon strips, sweet sherry, and more iodine, even some tar, we’re taking Islay after all. Very refined and layered with a touch of cinnamon, and also salt. The sweet, and salty interplay is very nice indeed. The sweet smoke is always there too.

 Finish : long with the sweet smoky bacon strips, sweet peppermint, pepper.

Conclusion: One of the better OB Caol Ila I’ve had in recent years. This is a highly enjoyable and complex dram showcasing how good older CI’s can be. The sherry seasoned casks add a lovely sweet layer to the peaty, medicinal Caol Ila DNA. Highly drinkable, and highly enjoyable, although it needs time… Well done. Expect to see those pop on many online sites for twice as much as the original price, very soon.

Score: 90/100

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