2010 Old Particular Caol Ila 8 Years Review

It’s funny, after 6+ years of being in Malt Nuts, every time I open a new Scotch I think about what tasting it could have fit into. This 2010 Old Particular Caol Ila 8 Years would have been a good candidate for our 8 yo and under Caol Ila tasting. Though, I don’t know if it would have done any better than the one I did take…

Old Particular is a Douglas Laing brand that’s readily found at K&L here in Los Angeles and this was one of their 2018 picks. Aged in a refill Hogshead, this nearly-clear whisky intrigued me. Not because I thought it would be fantastic, but because I thought it would be spirit forward with very little oak influence.

I knew what I was getting into with this young Caol Ila, or at least I thought I did, when I purchased it. I wanted to really get at the core spirit of Caol Ila… time to see how, if at all, right I was in picking this up.

2010 Old Particular Caol Ila 8 Years – Details and Tasting Notes

Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)

Region: Islay, Scotland

Distiller: Caol Ila
Bottler: Old Particular (Douglas Laing)
Bottled For: K&L
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: Refill Hogshead
Age: 8 years (2010-2018)
ABV: 58.3%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Cask: DL12807
Bottles: 233

Price: $60

Tasting Notes

EYE
Pale straw

NOSE
Minerally, spirity and vanilla fronted w/ some peat and graham and banana in the back and a touch vomity. The spirit shines through here and it’s not overly appealing but is perversely interesting which is sometimes fun… but not here.

PALATE
Minerally spirity and vanilla fronted w/ some peat and graham and banana in the back and vanilla, honey and white pepper. Damn, this 2010 Old Particular Caol Ila 8 Years just screams minerally clay new make and lightly drags along some herbally spice, smoke and sweet notes.

FINISH
Long -> Smoke, mineral and stale dried fruit (banana chips). This is the best part of the whisky, but that’s not saying much.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Not fully balanced, round body and a sharp feel that’s a tad hot.

2010 Old Particular Caol Ila 8 Years – Overall Thoughts and Score

Well, I got exactly what I wanted: a spirit-forward Caol Ila. That doesn’t mean I loved it, obviously, but it was exactly what I thought it was and what I was hoping to experience. Though, that doesn’t mean I enjoyed the experience. A saying about careful wishing comes to mind here.

Because of all of these expectations, and a slight desire to enjoy this lightly-oaked-nearly-raw expression I tried it blind with the Hepburn’s 7 Year Caol Ila I already reviewed along with the 8 Year and 12 year Signatories I’ll be reviewing shortly. Let’s just say it didn’t do so well in that blind tasting and confirmed everything I was experiencing.

The disparity is massive between this expression, the 7 yo Caol Ia I just reviewed, and the 6 or so Caol Ila reviews coming up shortly. Unfortunately, this is one of my least favorite Caol Ilas ever (sorry OG). It’s just weak and rough and, honestly, hard to drink. To get much of anything out of the 2010 Old Particular Caol Ila 8 Years required a lot of work and patience, none of which paid off. Left me feeling a deep sense of… disappointment.

SCORE: 1/5

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