Review #296-298: Caol Ila Gordan & MacPhail World Whisky Day tasting

I stumbled across a couple Caol Ila IBs from  BC Merchants for some real throwback prices so I picked them up.  I had never heard of BC Merchants but at these prices, worth the gamble. Caol Ila is an Islay distillery owned by everybody's favorite corporate conglomerate Diageo. They are more on the moderate peated style on Islay.  For World Whisky Day, I lined them up for a tasting.  Any items in italics is with water.

Caol Ila Gordan & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2004 13 Year

Islay - 13 - NCA  - NCF -  $100 - 45% 

This whisky was initially matured in first fill and refill ex-bourbon casks for 13 years. Then they were finished in Hermitage (Northern Rhone red wine) for 3 years.  The yield is 3922 bottles, so I am guessing it is a batch of 13-17 barrels originally.  

Color - Burnt Amber

Nose - Red wine, honey, malt, hemp rope - fades into cherry and peakreeks

Palate - Cherry, malt, apple, ginger, peat funk, lemon - water makes it lose complexity and become all cherry with hints of new wood

Finish - Medium Short  - New wood, pepper, lingering smoke, cherry and faint apple - Water brings out the red fruits and peat, pleasant, balanced by not complex.

Overall - 6 -  The red wine color is pretty prominent in this one. In fact the wine is pretty heavy throughout. It is a bit thin in the mouth. Outside of this tasting, I have been adding maybe 10-20% the BC merchants to this to beef up the ABV.  It does wonders.  It really should have been bottled around 48% ABV.  I like red wine malts and this is not an exception.  It just nags at me the thin feel.

Caol Ila Gordan & MacPhail Exclusive 2008 9 Year BC Merchants

Islay - 13 - NCA  - NCF -  $53 - 58.1% 

This is a refill ex bourbon cask selected by BC Merchants

Color - Amber

Nose - Raisins and peat, apple juice, honey, key lime, earthy peat

Palate - Apple/pear salad, malt, grapefruit 

Finish - Medium long - Ginger, new wood, diesel, citrus - a bit hot. - water brings out the citrus even more 

Overall - 7 - This was on the fruiter side and was quite enjoyable.  Not complex, but enjoyable and big and coating. A steal at the price in our current environment.  

Caol Ila Gordan & MacPhail Cask Strength 2005 11 Year BC Merchants

Islay - 13 - NCA  - NCF -  $65 - 54.1% 

This cask was aged in a first fill ex bourbon cask selected by BC Merchants.

Color - Amber

Nose - Peat and apples, kindling smoke, lemon zest - much fainter than the others.

Palate - Apples, chemical peat, ginger - orchard fruits pop, citrus, sweetness

Finish - Medium Long  - Big lingering peat, hard to describe, chemically kind of like graphite. Pepper and ginger - Same flavors but some how bigger and more coating with smacks of cigar boxes

Overall - 7 - This was very nice, and for the price, well worth the purchase.  It is brash and in your face peat bomb.  But who doesn't love that from time to time.  

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Rating system is price influenced as it is based on my shopping decisions when buying a bottle.

10 Best in Show

9 Great Dram for Special Occasions

8 Worthy of consistent spot in my collection

7 Worth picking up a bottle if in the mood

6 I would buy a bottle if it went on sale
5.5 I enjoyed it but will never be priced at where I would buy a bottle

5 I would drink it happily if offered

4 I would drink it if offered on the rocks

3 Maybe some soda will make this potable

2 I'll Pass

1 Toilet cleaner

Inclusive Ratings

Overall 6.2

Standard Deviation 0.96

Skew 0.51

Kurtosis -0.28