Caol Ila Moch

The Maker

Caol Ila is easily 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 has been closed to visitors since 2019 as the site undergoes a major refurbishment into what is effectively a Johnnie Walker welcome centre. At the time of writing there is no obvious reopening date due to Covid-19. However, the scale of the plans available online suggest a visit to the site will never be the same again.

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 - given the output relative to other Islay distilleries the chances are that when you pick up an undisclosed Islay whisky it will 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. One such example is the Càrn Mòr 2012 Strictly Limited release I reviewed a few months back.

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' (this is the evaporation and re-condensation of the spirit within the still before it leaves for the condenser). It is said that this makes the whisky lighter and adds an additional minerality. I have to confess that my main distinctive 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

The Moch release (meaning dawn) is an example of a growing trend in Scotch production to deal with ever increasing demand. As a non-aged statement, it allows Caol Ila to churn out a more profitable release by using what is likely to be much younger whisky (dawn! get it?) than the core range 12-year-old. I’d assume it's mostly whisky around eight years of age. That's the cynical line anyway. The more charitable line is that the Moch is able to be a fresher, more accessible release for those who might be intimidated by the core range's complexity.

I have to confess to being rather conflicted by this approach. The Moch was one of the malts which got me into whisky a little over a decade ago. I even remember getting a pre-release version of the Moch for under £30 as a special offer from an online retailer. It clearly worked as it pushed me into exploring a lot more of what Islay had to offer. No doubt back then it was considered a ‘loss leader’ as it has certainly resulted in me spending several thousand on Islay malts in the years since. All money and time well spent of course!

But regardless of whether it's a cynical profit chasing step or something else, it's impossible to deny the commercial success of the Moch. Demand has pushed the price of a bottle up into the mid fifties, making it more expensive than the traditional 12-year-old release. Something which will no doubt delight those monitoring Caol Ila’s profit margins. I would also suggest that the success of the Moch has likely contributed to Laphroaig developing and releasing its own version, the Lore, a few years later. If nothing else, I'd argue that if the Moch is in part to thank for the Lore's existence then that is justification enough.

Unfortunately, these characteristics result in a rather opaque product. In addition to the lack of an age statement the only substantive information on the bottle and packaging is the legally required minimum of its (rather low) 43% alcohol content. A classic Diageo percentage which always suggests that they are making the minimum possible effort to be above the basement floor with their releases. As a result there is nothing I can tell you about how it's aged, or whether it's coloured or chill-filtered. As such it's best assumed that it suffers from both.

The Neck Pour

This is my first return to the Moch in many years. The nose immediately reminded me of why I liked it back in my early days of whisky. There's the heavy BBQ smoke cut with that oily brine which is like sticking your nose into some tinned fish. However, what now dominates it for me is something which smells very artificial. Of all things what I smell most is Prawn Cocktail crisps. Given how odd this tasting note sounds I give it to a few others and they either agreed, or said it was more like Smoky Bacon flavour. I'd guess that whichever you pick up is down to which flavour you preferred as a child, but there is definitely a commonality there in terms of which sort or paprika colouring/flavouring E-number crisp companies put into their packets. I'm not for a moment suggesting that Caol Ila do anything similar, however, that's the smell which dominates this whisky for me, and at this early point I can't really get past it.

But after all that on the nose I find it all rather bland on the palate. At this point there is very little there. Yes, there are hints to those traditional Caol Ila flavours of smoke, Szechuan pepper and oily goodness, but they are all very subdued in comparison. The texture is also not what i've come to expect from the many indi Caol Ilas which have dominated my experience of the distillery over the past few years. It feels much more uniform, watery and softer. All a bit of a disappointment really.

The Body

Working my way through the bottle those initial flavours still dominate, but i am getting more of a leathery note. More of that lovely oiliness and some salt and a chili finish, but i still can't get past that Prawn Cocktail. Perhaps this is simply an example of how my own tastes have changed as i've got in to whisky more. Something which I once loved has become a distant also ran when compared to the kind of malts i'm enjoying these days.

This doesn't mean to say that this is a bad whisky. It's just not something which i'd recommend in the way I once would, other than to those looking for a gateway into peat. It’s all become rather one dimensional. Not unlike the Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair I reviewed a few months ago.

Final Thoughts

As I finish the bottle i'm left conflicted about how to reflect on it and my own relationship to whisky. Have I become a terrible whisky snob? Probably. Is there some flavour drift here? Unlikely. Or is it just one of those things which change in life? Oh well, I can’t have it all!

The experience has made go back to a few old favourites to see if I still like them as much as I once did. These included things like Talisker which I also haven't had in a while. Interestingly I found myself liking those as much as ever, if not more. So, it seems like this might just be a one off. Suffices to say i'll be leaving the Moch for the foreseeable future. I have, however, got myself a bottle of Caol Ila 12 to replace it.