Caol Ila 20-year-old

Overall rating
91.75/100
votes
30
Whiskybase ID
WB24838
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
Distillery Bottling
Bottling serie
150th Anniversary 1846-1996
Bottled
1996
Stated Age
20 years old
Strength
57.86 % Vol.
Size
700 ml
Barcode
5000281010175
Added on
02 sep 2011 10:51 am
Cask Strength

Average value

€ 2115.95

38 × in wishlist

30 × member ratings

32 × in collection

Whisky reviews for Caol Ila 20-year-old

10 users have left 10 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 91.75 points.

  1. dram-drinker scored this whisky 90 points Photo Moderator

    Old and spicy – quite good!
    • Nose
      90 90
      Intense, honey, seabreeze, wet hay and wood, little mossy, vanilla, apple, spices, pepper, nuts, tobacco, citric, yellow fruits, old books – pretty good!
    • Taste
      91 91
      Punchy, oily, creamy, spicy, honey, fruity, good sweetness, cooked fruits, apple, cookie dough, marzipan, pepper, spices, tobacco, little metallic, hint of OBE – very good!
    • Finish
      90 90
      Long, burning, spicy, zesty, woody, more mossy, honey, pepper, tobacco, old books, more OBE

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  3. Baanaanaabob scored this whisky 92 points Connoisseur

    WAx, oil, honey, menthol, candied citrus, pineapple, orchard fruits, barley sugars, bananas, iodine but also a bit of funkiness, excellent

  4. OJK scored this whisky 91 points Expert Senior

    Oily lemon and butter, mint jelly and honeyed ashes.

  5. ConvalRen scored this whisky 94 points Connoisseur

    Incredibly phenolic, musky moss, with green vegetative and earthy notes. Strong and rich in tropical fruits like bananas, pineapples, starfruit, and lychee, while also having an array of green apples, red paper, guava, papaya, and soursop. Stunning, to say the least, it does not have much smoke nor peat but the strength in the phenols is just tremendously shocking after taking a sip.

    TO confirm upon my investigation/review/findings, I paired my dram with a Port ellen 36 XOP, a standard Caol Ila 15 2018, a Laphroaig 21 FOL, and a Caol Ila 35 SR.

    This Caol Ila 20 is definitely heavens above all these amazing drams. It is incredibly waxy, and salty yet sweet enough for a deep complexity from the farmyard to an open forest, a tropical rainforest, to the coast, and to the depths of the ocean. Whereby, salted cod and salmon oil integrate with the seagrass, seaweed, sand, and black peppercorns.

    Perhaps, my best Caol Ila ever!
    • Nose
      94 94
      The nosing is on equal standing with the palate, I cant just score one lower than the other. Hence, both are on equal grounds.
    • Taste
      94 94
    • Finish
      93 93

  6. DrunkDude scored this whisky 92 points Expert Senior

    The aroma includes smoke and pigsty, the smell of fermented cheese, a touch of smoke, dried figs, and bacon. After adding two drops of water, a little orange water, apple, and banana came out of the aroma? The rest does not seem to have changed. The overall aroma is full of funk elements, but it is difficult to find traces of attractive flavor elements. After being left for a while, there seemed to be traces of mango jam. 89
    Rich mint apples, banana syrup, sour skittles, entrained in a light smoky flavor, basic but well-balanced flavor, followed by black pepper and fennel. The overall feeling is magnificent and strong, rich in layers, and precise in balance. Adding water does not change the performance of the wine body at all, with a good sour and sweet balance! 92
    Nut chewy, woody tannins, fruit cell particles, fennel, baking, red apple peel. 92

  7. SFWC scored this whisky 93 points Expert Senior

    Joint third place ln our Caolilapocalypse tasting Dec 2018. Legendary dram.

  8. hs305 scored this whisky 95 points Connoisseur

    [2015]  I had this dram during a private tasting of whisky connoisseurs at Limburg.In my old rating system (ten scales that translate into WB points: 50
    - 66 - 75 - 80 - 82,5 - 85 - 87,5 - 90 - 92,5 - 95) I scored it 95.  I
    took no detailed notes as there were simply too many drams...  Every
    connoisseur brought several bottles from his collection to the tasting
    where they were lined up by common decision.  Just 1 cl was served as
    otherwise we probably would not have seen the end of the tasting without
    medical problems. As this was a flabbergasting event I list all the line-up and my resp. scores below:

    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/39946/cardhu-08-year-old  (90)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/9831/lochside-1963-jm-reserve  (85)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/23579/tomatin-30-year-old  (90)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/4500/caol-ila-1975-hb  (92,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/65842/macallan-08-year-old  (85)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/78220/glenfarclas-05-year-old (87,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/71733/glen-albyn-10-year-old  (92,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/3395/glenlivet-21-year-old-archive  (87,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/20921/glenfarclas-12-year-old-all-malt-unblended  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/89719/glenfarclas-15-year-old  (95+)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/24838/caol-ila-20-year-old  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/7465/longmorn-1970-sms  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/82141/glenfarclas-1968  (90)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/45205/talisker-1957-gm  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/8777/tamnavulin-18-year-old-mi  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/7089/glenglassaugh-1967-sv  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/17649/macallan-1964  (90)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/62640/macallan-1960  (95+)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/24438/longmorn-1969-cc  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/18387/glen-garioch-1972  (95+)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/66468/isle-of-jura-1966-ca  (90)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/19830/isle-of-jura-1966-sv  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/66937/bowmore-1971-ses  (95+)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/27784/bowmore-1971-ses  (95+)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/36977/dalmore-20-year-old  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/15376/imperial-1962-ca  (95++)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/8819/ardbeg-1974-ses  (92,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/63790/ardbeg-1974-gm  (92,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/14053/bruichladdich-1966  (92,5)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/12289/laphroaig-12-year-old  (95)
    - https://www.whiskybase.com/whisky/56284/springbank-30-year-old  (92,5)

  9. Allandale scored this whisky 92 points Connoisseur

    A real Caol Ila. Class act.
    • Nose
      Lovely. The first thing to emerge on the nose is; linseed oil,then comes coastal smoke, that mix of brine and drying sea salt and a hint of Neoprene. Light toffee notes, with wet moss.
    • Taste
      Mouth-Coatingly, tongue-cringingly oily with a touch of mirabelle plum in there. Oaky tones present. Some pear and yelow plums, lemon. Complex.
    • Finish
      Long, subtle smoke. 

  10. wheatfield scored this whisky 92 points Expert Junior

    Pours medium gold. Nose is first horseradish, wasabi, other raw root spices. Lots of peat smoke, kelp, sea air. More Port Ellen than Brora. Touches of vanilla sweetness. Mouth is an explosion upfront, really thick and warming on the tongue. Wasabi peas, lemon cakes. Ripe baked apple, potter's clay. Of course there is peat, opening more on the finish, and a kiss of vanilla. A touch of varnish in the back. Finish is hot and coating like an old cough elixir. As it opens you start to get the impression of sweet nectarines and heavy cream. Some clay and soot too. Excellent Islay whisky, rivals the best Port Ellens I've had and seems to be in the same style.
    • Nose
      91 91
    • Taste
      92 92
    • Finish
      92 92

  11. Feusi did not rate this whisky Connoisseur

    A 20 year old Caol Ila bottled by the distillery to celebrate their 150th birthday in 1996.

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