Caol Ila 8 Fèis Ìle 2025 Review vs Lagavulin 15 Fèis Ìle 2025 Review
I’ve got Fèis Ìle 2026 in my sights, and I can already feel that familiar pre-trip pull: reading release notes, spotting the bottlings, imagining the first sea-air dram on Islay. I’m going this year, and I’m genuinely buzzing to try the 2026 Fèis Ìle releases in the place they’re meant to be tasted — surrounded by peat smoke, coastal wind, and that island energy you can’t bottle.
To get my palate in the mood, I decided on a little sneak preview: two 2025 festival bottlings that sit almost like a side-by-side statement of Islay character — Caol Ila 8 Fèis Ìle 2025 and Lagavulin 15 Fèis Ìle 2025. If you’re here for a caol ila 8 fèis ìle 2025 review or a lagavulin 15 fèis ìle 2025 review, you’re in the right place.
What Is Fèis Ìle?
Fèis Ìle is Islay’s annual festival of whisky and music — a week where distilleries host open days, tastings, special events, and release bottlings that often become instant talking points. It’s part celebration, part pilgrimage, and part “how did my suitcase get so heavy?”
Official website (and the only link you really need when planning): https://www.feisile.co.uk
Caol Ila 8 Fèis Ìle 2025 Review
Stats
- Age: 8 Years Old
- ABV: 57.8% (115.6 proof)
- Distillery: Caol Ila
- Region: Islay
- Flavour Profile: Smoke & Storm
- Chill-Filtration: No
- Colouring: No
Nose
This opens with a sweet-and-savoury handshake: caramel and vanilla up front, then that unmistakable Islay turn into iodine and brine. It’s not just seaside air either — it’s more like a working harbour. Salted pork comes through clearly, the kind of smoky-cured note that makes the whole aroma feel hearty rather than delicate. Then the lift: orange zest brightens the edges, and black peppercorns add a dry crackle that keeps the sweetness from getting too comfortable.
The overall feel is classic Caol Ila spirit energy, but shaped into something slightly richer — which tracks with the experimental finishing notes around this release.
Palate
On the palate it leans into the same flavour lane — and if you like consistency, you’ll be happy. Vanilla and caramel sit heavily, almost like a glossy glaze, but underneath there’s proper savoury weight: salted pork, peppered steak, and a gentle, comforting porridge-like cereal note that gives it a faintly earthy foundation.
What I like is the way the citrus doesn’t shout — it threads. Lime zest flickers through the mid-palate, brightening the meat-and-smoke character without turning this into a “citrus peat” caricature. It feels grounded, coastal, and functional in the best way: a whisky that knows what it wants to be.
Finish
Medium-long, with a more herbal, rooty direction. Liquorice root and aniseed take over first, then a cool lift of mint leaf that plays nicely with the returning brine. Charred oak lingers underneath, giving it a dry, smoky edge that keeps the finish from turning too sweet.
Food Pairing
Smoked fish is the obvious win — and it works brilliantly. If you want a sweeter pairing, cinnamon buns or glazed brioche land surprisingly well, echoing the vanilla/caramel while letting the brine and smoke do their thing.
Who Is This Whisky For?
For Caol Ila fans who want a festival bottling that still feels recognisably Caol Ila: coastal, smoky, savoury, and easy to lock onto. Also a good shout for peat drinkers who like their Islay with brine and balance rather than brute force.
What Do Others Write About This Whisky?
Independent reviewers have picked up on similar themes — sweetness, smoke, and a profile that doesn’t always scream “textbook Caol Ila”:
Two Whisky Bros found it somewhat one-dimensional until water opened it up, noting sweetness (dark chocolate/crème brûlée), savoury smoke, and a peat punch that can feel muted without dilution:
https://twowhiskybros.co.uk/blogs/blog/caol-ila-feis-ile-2025
More Drams Less Drama discussed it as an enjoyable Fèis Ìle Caol Ila with salty richness, framing it as solid rather than wildly unusual:
https://moredramslessdrama.com/2025/04/28/five-feis-ile-whiskies/
Whisky Magazine’s tasting notes leaned into a sweet-sour, pastry-and-citrus angle with smoke in balance — an interesting parallel to the caramel/citrus thread showing up here:
https://whiskymag.com/tastings/caol-ila-feis-ile-2025-8-years-old/
Verdict
Strengths
Classic Islay character from Caol Ila with flavours fans know and love
Sweet-savoury balance that stays coastal rather than aggressively smoky
Weaknesses
Not much contrast between nose, palate and finish makes this rather one-dimensional
Overall
A confident, festival-ready Caol Ila that leans into familiar coastal peat, with sweetness and savoury meatiness doing most of the heavy lifting. It’s not a shape-shifter, but it’s satisfying in that straight-line, brine-and-smoke way.
Lagavulin 15 Fèis Ìle 2025 Review
Stats
- Age: 15 Years Old
- ABV: 55.7% (111.4 proof)
- Distillery: Lagavulin
- Region: Islay
- Flavour Profile: Smoke & Storm
- Chill-Filtration: No
- Colouring: No
Nose
This is Lagavulin coming at you with presence. Seaspray and brine hit first, quickly followed by charred meats and iodine — that medicinal, smoky depth that makes Lagavulin feel like Lagavulin. Then it turns darker and more indulgent: Luxardo cherries and milk chocolate fold in, giving it a rich, dessert-like layer without losing the maritime edge.
The seasoning note matters here: a dusting of white pepper sits over the top, making the sweetness feel sharpened rather than soft. Even on the nose, this feels like a festival bottling that’s trying to give you a little extra to think about.
Palate
The palate comes in with authority. It’s powerful and peppery, with black-pepper-covered steak as the core savoury note — not just “meaty”, but properly charred and spiced. Then the sweetness arrives in a way that feels intentional rather than decorative: cherry marmalade gives a sticky, dark-fruit richness, while liquorice root adds that slightly bitter, earthy sweetness that pairs perfectly with peat.
The structure is built on charred oak shavings, and the citrus isn’t here to brighten so much as to cut: orange zest and kumquat add a sharp, aromatic edge that keeps everything from becoming too dense. The result is a whisky that feels layered and deliberate: coastal smoke, dark sweetness, pepper heat, oak tannin — all in the same sentence, and somehow not fighting.
Finish
Long and peppery, and it doesn’t let go easily. Charred oak leads the fade-out, liquorice root stays glued to the sides of the palate, and burnt caramel gives the final stretch a dark, slightly bitter sweetness. There’s a tannic edge here that some will call “too much”, but for me it suits the personality: this is a bold Lagavulin, not a polite one.
Food Pairing
Salted cod and smoked eel both make total sense, and a lean steak is almost too perfect. For sweet pairing, baklava with cinnamon ice cream works beautifully — the spice and sweetness latch onto the whisky’s pepper-and-caramel finish in a very satisfying way.
Who Is This Whisky For?
For peat drinkers who want Lagavulin with extra weight and festival drama: smoke plus dark sweetness plus spice and oak. If you like your Islay with structure and grip — not just smoke and softness — this is firmly in your lane.
What Do Others Write About This Whisky?
Independent takes tend to orbit the same themes: sweet finish influence, restrained peat early on, and that ever-present question of value/availability:
Two Whisky Bros described it as balanced between sweetness and smoke, noting the Moscatel finish can sometimes feel like it’s steering the spirit, with peat developing more with time and/or water:
https://twowhiskybros.co.uk/blogs/blog/lagavulin-feis-ile-2025
Whisky Magazine’s tasting notes leaned warming and spiced — honeyed sweetness, incense-like smoke, and a medium finish with treacle/nutmeg tones:
https://whiskymag.com/tastings/lagavulin-feis-ile-2025-15-years-old/
Whisky Gospel’s festival bottle overview framed it as rich and coastal, with medicinal undertones and a long, drying smoky finish — broadly in line with the way this dram combines sweetness, spice, and smoke:
https://whiskygospel.com/2025/04/01/islay-feis-ile-festival-2025-bottles/
Verdict
Strengths
Everything you want and more from Lagavulin with coastal influences, peat and a lovely layer of sweetness and citrus
Long, structured finish that rewards slow sipping
Weaknesses
Availability and price are the biggest ones
Tannic influence may be too much for some palates.
Overall
A bold festival Lagavulin that plays with sweetness and spice without letting the coastal smoke disappear. It’s rich, peppery, and built around oak structure — the kind of dram that feels like it wants your full attention.
Caol Ila 8 vs Lagavulin 15 — Which Fèis Ìle 2025 Bottling Wins?
If you want a festival dram that you can pour freely and enjoy without overthinking, Caol Ila 8 Fèis Ìle 2025 is the easy choice: coastal peat, savoury heft, sweet edges, and a steady profile you can sink into.
If you want the deeper, more contemplative experience — the one that feels like the day’s final pour, when you finally stop moving and start tasting — Lagavulin 15 Fèis Ìle 2025 takes it. It’s bigger, darker, more structured, and more demanding.
Caol Ila 8 vs Lagavulin 15 — Final Thoughts
This was exactly the kind of preview I wanted ahead of Fèis Ìle 2026. Both whiskies feel like legitimate festival releases rather than labels slapped onto standard stock, and both capture something real about their distilleries — just through different lenses.
Caol Ila gives you coastal familiarity with sweet-savoury balance. Lagavulin gives you depth, spice, oak grip, and a darker, richer kind of Islay pleasure. If 2026 brings anything like this level of intent across the island, I’m in trouble — and I mean that in the best possible way.
