Caol Ila 2018 Distillery Exclusive

The Maker

Regular readers (Ha!) will be no strangers to Caol Ila given that while this is only my 19th full bottle review it’s also my fourth from Caol Ila. It suffices to say it’s one of my favourite distilleries.

Founded way back in 1846 and named for its location overlooking the Islay Straight between it and Jura, Caol Ila has gone through numerous guises over the centuries. Depending on how you count it has changed hands at least seven times since it was founded, with the only original component of the site remaining being the main warehouse. The rest of the site was rebuilt in the 1970s. This rebuild includes a rather brutalist glass fronted stillhouse which looks like one of those buildings from Stingray that might just disappear underground at the first sign of trouble.

Despite this complexed past, the distillery is now part of the Diageo empire and has become the largest producer on Islay - with an annual output of 6,500,000 litres (the vast majority of which is said to be bottled at Diageo's central belt hub). 95% of this enormous output goes into blends, with Caol Ila being a big part of many Johnnie Walker releases - especially the Black.

As a testament to how important Caol Ila has become to Diageo the distillery was closed to visitors in 2019 to undergo a major refurbishment into what is effectively a Johnnie Walker welcome centre that has only recently reopened to the public. Sadly this closure coincided with my visit to Islay so this is a rather rare 'Caol Ila distillery exclusive' that was actually purchased from Lagavulin’s distillery shop! I can still remember the cold look I was given by staff when it was my only purchase.

The financial stability delivered by Diageo has allowed Caol Ila to develop a long line of highly respected single malt releases alongside its blends output. It has also become a favoured source for both independent bottlers and those releasing undisclosed Islay blends alike - the output relative to other Islay distilleries means that when you pick up an undisclosed Islay whisky it will more than likely have at least some Caol Ila in it.

These two markets combined mean that it isn't unusual to find dozens of Caol Ila releases in most online whisky shops. This diversity means that alongside the core range there is always a large range of indi expressions which are able to deliver something a little different. Such examples include the Càrn Mòr 2012 Strictly Limited release and North Star’s 7yo Single Cask edition I’ve reviewed previously.

Caol Ila claim that what makes their whisky unique from its Diageo sister Lagavulin, despite using the same malt specification from Port Ellen Maltings, is that they only ever fill their stills to one third capacity. This apparently allows a higher level of 'reflux' (the evaporation and re-condensation of the spirit within the still before it leaves for the condenser). It’s said that this makes the whisky lighter and adds an additional minerality. I have to confess that my main tasting note tends to be the oiliness, so i'm not sure how much that conflicts with the official spiel. Either way it’s rarely anything short of a delightful dram.

The Expression

While I may have purchased this at Lagavulin in 2019 the release itself is the 2018 Distillery Exclusive. As is often the case with official releases from Caol Ila there regrettably isn’t a whole lot of information provided on the bottle. It carries no age statement, nor does the bottle reference whether colour has been added or chill-filtration applied. As ever in such circumstances I’m left to assume it suffers from the addition of both and is relatively young – certainly younger than the core range entry of 12yo.

Beyond that however we do start to get a little more info. It’s one of just 6000 bottles (rather small numbers for Diageo) and is delivered at a punchy cask strength of 57.4%. For those wondering it can still be found online for prices in the region of £130, but from memory I paid around £80. All things considered that isn’t a great deal of appreciation compared to what’s happened to whisky pricing in general at this level over the same period.

Where things get interesting however is the cask make-up. Again no information is given on the precise breakdowns, but assuming the quantities are reflected in how the label is ordered this was vatted from a mixture of refill Kentucky Bourbon, first-fill Kentucky Bourbon, and first-fill re-charred Californian red wine casks.

All in all then this is a very American inspired Scotch. Furthermore, looking back on this bottle in 2023 I think it’s fair to say it was a little ahead of the curve in terms of making use of red wine casks. While the seem to have become increasingly common over the past few years, I don’t recall seeing that many around at the time this was made, so perhaps it’s a bit of trailblazer in that respect.

The Neck Pour

The initial nose is that standard Caol Ila oiliness that I’ve always loved so much. Then comes the burst of alcohol, but far softer than expected for something of this strength. Then comes the sweetness – something which is definitely very different to normal. Indeed it’s a rich, jammy sweetness not unlike a Port finished whisky. Which naturally makes a lot of sense given the red wine content.

The back end however, is much more traditional. The peat smoke becomes dominant – and as is often the case with Caol Ila it really is what i'd term a 'fresh salty peat', unlike a more 'earthy/bitter' peat like a Laphroaig or Ardbeg. That’s not necessarily better or worse, just different. Paradoxically this fresher peat ends up being much softer, yet also richer – sort of like the difference between a mass produced overly sweetened jam or peanut butter and a more natural product.

The palette follows through on all of the above minus the jam, while also providing a tobacco like finish. Other than that it’s so far a fairly standard Caol Ila but with a little additional leathey complexity. The absence of jam strikes me as strange at this point. Maybe the red wine casks were not very numerous, or maybe it will just take a bit of oxidation to bring it out.

The Body

I’ve left this bottle for a good 18 months with only the top third gone as it’s a holiday memory I’ve been aiming to eek out for as long as possible. Coming back to it there’s been a substantial change. What’s really struck me is how strongly it now smells of peanut oil. Something that’s very different to anything I’ve had from Caol Ila before.

The taste has also changed. Now I’m getting a lot more tannins and that jamminess promised on the nose is now starting to come through. That said it’s still very soft compared to the profiles of many wine/port finishes I’ve had of late. I can’t shake the notion that they went too light on the red wine in the vatting. What’s also now more present is the peppered spice of the bourbon char. I’ve always associated it with Szechuan, but I’ve seen plenty of reviews which go far harsher and more towards chili flakes. For me Szechuan has always better fitted the bill given the oil and meatiness of a lot of Caol Ila that are reminiscent of spiced pork belly crackling.

Final Thoughts

I think that in total this bottle has been open a little over three years at the time of writing, and I have to confess that the second half has disappeared far quicker than the first did. As ever with a cask strength whisky I have experimented more with dilution in search of additional flavours. Yet in this case I found that it ended up diminishing the whole and delivering something much closer to the standard 12yo. That’s still a fine dram of course, but not really what I was hoping for in this case.

On the whole this has been a decent bottle. I would not go out of my way to replace it - which is just as well given how out of the way Islay is! While I’ve enjoyed it I can’t get passed the wish that it was more than it is. If only they had made those red wine casks more dominant in the mix then this could easily have been something special. As it is it’s just very pleasant. Definitely worth trying a dram of in a bar, but not worth forking out well over £100 for a bottle of your own.