2004 Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila Review

The tale of this 2004 Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila is one of missed tasting opportunities. I had originally picked it up for our Malt Nuts Teenage Caol Ila tasting, but I couldn’t find it in my whisky closet and ended up using the 2006 Signatory Caol Ila 12 instead. Which turned out for the best, but as these things go I found it the day after the tasting, on the wrong shelf, towards the back; organization only works if you stick with it.

Fast forward 8ish months and one pandemic later and the Malt Nuts gathered virtually for our Gordon and Macphail Caol Ila tasting. On paper this looked like a perfect fit. It was Caol Ila, it was bottled by G&M and it was 13+ years old to boot. My past oversight was about to be corrected and then… we limited the tasting to cask strength expressions.

It was back to the shelf for this little Caol Ila, but at the last minute I decided to open it and taste it during our G&M Caol Ila tasting. This decision ended up being a boon. The sample bottles we sourced for this tasting were tainted and this little G&M gem ended up being the only drinkable thing I had that evening. And drink it I did.

2006 Signatory Caol Ila 12 Years Review – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Region: Islay, Scotland

Distiller: Caol Ila
Bottler: Gordon & Macphail
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: 13 Years (2004-2018)
ABV: 46%

Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Batch: 2004

Price: $65

Tasting Notes

EYE
Pear juice

NOSE
Peat, honey, burnt marshmallow, phenolic plastic, spice, orchard fruit, banana cream, touch toffee. Warm and easy aroma with some good fruity notes and a delivery that exceeds the regular Caol Ila 12.

PALATE
Dried apples, cinnamon red hots, smoke, char, malt, toffee. Like the aroma, there’s a nice fruitiness here but there’s also a strong smoke and spice. There’s no lack of character in this 2004 Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila.

FINISH
Med-Long -> Smoke, fruit and malt that mix in a slow velvety fade of sweet smoke.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Good sense of balance, med-full body and a round easy feel.

2004 Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila – Final Thoughts and Score

I like the warm Islay punchiness this carries and the way it sits nicely up against a solid fruity backdrop. It’s sweet and smoky but not sherry sweet – more bourbon sweet. This duality of subtle sweet and smoky playing together is what makes this a great option as a daily drinker.

On the whole this 2004 Connoisseurs Choice Caol Ila is a bit deeper and richer than the OG 12, but on the whole they sit in the same general area of quality. Which is the bare minimum of what you want from an indie bottling: to be at least as good as what you can get from the distillery/OB releases.

SCORE: 3/5

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