Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve"Unpeated Style"
Reviewed on: 3/16/15
Photo by Reddit User /u/mentel42
This sample was graciously provided by Mentel42, as was the leftmost photo above, and completes a trio of Caol Ila offerings I have reviewed. This offering is unpeated, has no age statement, comes in at 59.6 % ABV (which I assume is cask strength), and Mentel42 reports as costing $90. Both of my prior reviews were peated so this will be a slight change of pace. It took me about an hour to get this blog properly setup and the glass sat for about that long before I touched it.
- Nose: Light Clay, Peaches, Lemon Meringue Pie, Tomatoes, Cooked Pasta
When I first smelled this one it was very reminiscent of what I would expect Caol Ila 12 to smell like without the peat. Quite young and a little subdued for the proof. Gratefully the hour in the glencairn brought out some really nice notes.
In my opinion, this is a fruit bomb. What I mistook at first for peaches became a full lemon meringue pie and once that note stuck I found it very difficult to transition away. After some digging I came up with tomatoes (malic acid?) and the youthful grains turned up with the scent of pasta. Later in the tasting the younger nose shows back up.
- Palate: Citrus, Pine, Grains, Peach, Lemon, Buttercream Icing, Cake
- Finish: Dry to the point of being sour, fairly long, it starts off on a ginger note and develops into darker root vegetables towards the end.
Overall
This is a very good scotch. It won't be right for some people and it takes a little work but you can tell a lot of time and care went into its development. I don't know if the price point is correct. At $70 this would be a must buy. At $90 I think it's a good buy if you're into the style. The people at Caol Ila definitely know what they're doing.
Rating: 87/100
