Alcohol clearly too dominant in the nose and aftertaste. Taste good on the other hand! 57.5% is on the brink. That's too bad. The sherry is dominated by the alcohol. You expect more quality from the nerds. We find him disappointing. After 4 teaspoons of water, the alcohol smell disappeared from the glass. That gave the taste a slightly better boost. But the sharpness of the 57.5% remained. Unfortunately.

Scotland in a glass, that's how I would describe the first scents of the WhiskyNerds' Caol Ila. Versatile in experience, because all facets are there. The subtle peat smoke, tobacco leaves and a hint of anise and spicy plants (eucalyptus) criss-cross together in a botanical garden. Exciting!

On the tongue the traditional oily experience that belongs to Caol Ila. That means that the whisky may continue to speak, enhanced by the sherry cask, not restrained. It is a bit straight forward in taste palette. Somewhere lurks a hint of menthol, unmistakable.

The aftertaste is unpolished. Playing with water is necessary, but this entails the risk that the whisky will hang too much towards the "fresh", and too little let the quality of the barrel shine. Strongly reminiscent of the Feis Ile bottlings from 2010, 2011 and 2012 (also single cask sherry Caol Ila's), although they were all whiskys of the rocket fuel type. But nice whisky to be compared to, with a dose of nostalgia.

Official notes:

"Color: amber.

Nose: aromas of hay, barn, aged cheese, lamp oil and mint.

Taste: very oily and powerful with notes of peat, the salty sea, smoke and honey. In the long finish it has notes of honey and peat smoke, with a very light bitterness."