Cao Ila 16yo Hunter Laing

Cao Ila, the smell devil in a glass. Like some of its brothers in Islay where they grow up, you open a bottle of Cao Ila in front of others, he will overwhelm the rest. This Cao Ila 16 year old is bottled by an independent bottler, Hunter Laing. Distilled in September 1996, matured in a refill hogshead and bottled in May 2013, there are only 144 bottles from this particular cask at 50% ABV.

The aroma is smoky and nutty, very iodine, and to say the least not for the faint hearted. The palate has vanilla with mild saltiness, quite dry nutty and medicinal. The finish on the other hand is swift but leaves a lightly herbal / grassy linger in the mouth. The bottle will cost you £100.

whiskytale: So you’re at the animal shelter looking for a new pet. At the far corner of the pet housing, you spot a Rottweiler; it’s black, quite muscular and looks rather intimidating. At first you ignore it, but as you pass by its cage, it just stares at you with curiosity, in fact it raises it ears and walks slowly towards you. It then wags its tail and you suddenly just know it just wants to play. The Cao Ila 16 year old is exactly that, it gives quite the intimidating aroma like it is all out to consume you. Instead the palate is warm and calm and you’re now willing to either grow with it or above the aroma.

Categories: Chronicles