Caol Ila 15 years old (D.2004, B.2020) Connoisseurs Choice / 58,9%/ – Connoisseurs Choice is an old whisky label from Gordon & MacPhail’s portfolio. It was introduced in the mid 1960s when the majority of Scottish malt distilleries supplied their whiskies for blending industry without even taking effort to market them as single malts. Toady, more than half a Century later, Connoisseurs Choice is still part of Gordon & MacPhail’s range and successfully competes with dozens of whisky labels. Caol Ila 2004 is one of the latest additions to the range (January 2020). The whisky was aged in refill sherry butt no. 306618 for over 15 years and bottled at natural strength of 58.9% abv and without chill filtration. The butt yielded 535 bottles.
Nose: peat smoke, vanilla, milk chocolate, raisins, black cherries, blackberries, prunes, cinnamon, clove, lemon pepper and trace of cigar ash.
Palate: peat smoke, smoked meats, caramel, vanilla, lemon peel, grapefruits, prunes, pepper, cinnamon, salted almonds and hints of oak.
Finish: pretty long, with notes of citrus zest, vanilla, pepper, dash of sea salt and whiffs of peat smoke.
