Caol Ila 12 YO - the winner amongst the Ladies

Caol Ila 12 YO, 43 %

Caol Ila 12 YO

Thank you all for helping The Ladies' Share decide the tasting order for our meeting last week! We got a lot of suggestions...and they were all different. We had to make the final decision ourselves, which was a good learning experience.

I guess a couple of us did not dare to go against our husbands, so even if we wanted to try the Cragganmore after one or two smoky Islay whiskies (like some of you suggested), we ended up tasting the whiskies in this order: Cragganmore Distillers Edition 1996 12 YO, Laphroaig QA Cask, Caol Ila 12 YO, Lagavulin 16 YO and Ardbeg Corryvreckan.

Caol Ila 12 YO became the winner amongst the Ladies. And when I say that, it does not mean that every Lady scored the Caol Ila highest, but all the Ladies picked the Caol Ila as one of the two best whiskies of the night. So, here is what I thought about it (with a little help from the Ladies):

Nose (23/25): It was warm and sweet. Vanilla, citrus, smoke and some peat. Then there was something meaty, like dried and salted meat. The next thing really does not sound any good, but there was a short period with the smell of a sour/wet cigarette(!). Luckily it disappeared. One of the Ladies then suggested marker pen, and all of us agreed. Well, I enjoyed the smell even though it changed quite a bit from sweet and "kind" to somewhat more tough.

Taste (23/25): A very full taste, but at the same time light. There was vanilla, salt, citrus and smoke here as well. Quite sweet actually.

Finish (22/25): The smoke really dominated in the end, accompanied by vanilla and salt. A light finish.

Balance (22/25): It was a very fresh whisky and it kept its stand during the whole tasting. A really nice whisky!

Score 90/100

- Tone