Gordon & MacPhail Reserve Caol Ila 2004 Aged 10 Years (Exclusively Bottled for Gillies Club – Australia)

Style: Sweet and Creamy

Rating: ☆ [Recommended]

Nose:

Sweet, rather robust ester and stewed fruits fired up by peat smoke. Grassy brushes, drops of herbal oil. Caramel dip and vanilla cream while amber smoke roasting softly. Powerful aroma.

Palate:

A mighty punch of stewed tropical fruits, round and robust. Quickly followed by smoke fire and herbal touches. A firm layer of vanilla cream, hints of caramalized banana malt. Very sweet. Rather full-bodied texture. Ashy peat emerges after waves of fruitiness. Spices cut in just the right time as the drier side beginning to emerge. Nice.

Finish:

Creamy, more cooked fruits and vanilla cream. Finish with subtle chocolate notes.

Thoughts:

Powerful and rather full-bodied. Quite unusual for a Caol Ila, but it is still very good. Sometimes I have forgotten how sweet Caol Ila is when you compare it with other distilleries. Nicely structured and hitting all the sweet spots. Solid offering.

[57% | 2014 Bottled | 2004 Distilled | Independent Bottling | Cask Number: 306470 | Cask Strength | Single Cask | Non Chill Filtered | Non Coloured | 223 Bottles]

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