Whisky Dudes Caol Ila 2015 Review | DRAM1 Indie Award Tasting Panel
Peated whisky has a habit of giving at least part of the game away in a blind tasting. Once smoke starts coming out of the glass, Scotland quickly enters the conversation and Islay usually isn’t far behind. Knowing there is peat in your glass and actually identifying where it comes from, however, are two very different things. This Caol Ila from Whisky Dudes proved that rather nicely.
Nobody among our more than 160 panel members knew they were tasting a 10-year-old Caol Ila, distilled in 2015 and bottled by Whisky Dudes at a fairly punchy 55.6% ABV. The peat was obvious enough, but from there the guesses went in all directions. Lagavulin was mentioned, someone wondered about Bunnahabhain, another taster thought the peat felt more Highland in style, and one panellist even started looking towards Ireland or India. And then, wonderfully, somebody just wrote down Caol Ila.
The panel was almost as divided on how much they enjoyed it. There were people who absolutely loved the sweet peat, oily texture and combination of smoke and fruit, while others struggled with bitterness, alcohol or the balance between sweetness and smoke. It eventually landed at 74.15/100, a solid score and one with considerably more going on behind it than the number alone suggests.
Tasting Notes: Whisky Dudes Caol Ila 2015
Stats:
- Bottler: Whisky Dudes
- Distillery: Caol Ila
- Age: 10 Years Old
- Vintage: 2015
- ABV: 55.6%
- Region: Islay
- Country: Scotland
Nose
Peat was there immediately, although it wasn’t the huge medicinal blast you might expect to make an Islay whisky instantly recognisable. Several panellists described it as light or restrained, surrounded by wood, hay, honey and vanilla. Another thought it smelled more like Highland peat, with a sweeter, woody character behind the smoke.
Once people started digging, the fruit came out. Grilled pineapple was one of the more interesting finds, alongside citrus, yellow fruit, sultanas and a little caramel or butterscotch. There were some lovely coastal notes too: sea breeze, dunes, maritime peat and heather, with vanilla and liquorice sitting underneath. Knowing what the whisky is now, that particular set of notes feels almost annoyingly Caol Ila.
Not everything was quite as pretty. Matchsticks, stable and cooked vegetables all appeared, while one panellist somehow ended up with celery and herb stock. I love notes like that in a blind panel. Nobody has read the official tasting notes beforehand and decided they too can definitely smell a very specific type of orchard pear. If someone smells celery, celery goes on the form.
There were also a few people who found the nose subdued, slightly dusty or simply less convincing than the palate that followed. That might help explain why the distillery guesses went all over the place. One person wondered about a peated Indian or Irish whiskey, Lagavulin and Bunnahabhain both entered the conversation, while another panellist smelled campfire, heather, citrus and peanut and went straight for Caol Ila. Fair play.
Palate
The palate was generally where this whisky found more friends. Smoke and peat remained firmly in charge, but the sweeter side opened up considerably. Honey, vanilla, soft yellow fruit and fruitcake were joined by marmalade, raisins, prunes and liquorice, with several tasters commenting on a pleasantly oily texture.
That fruit went surprisingly far in places. White grapes appeared in one set of notes, while another found candied orange, apricot, melon and tropical fruit underneath the peat. Dark chocolate and tobacco provided a heavier counterpoint elsewhere. There is quite a spread there, but honey, vanilla, citrus and darker dried fruit kept returning often enough to form a recognisable core.
Then there was the smoke. Campfire, ash, charcoal, dry smoke and soot all came through, together with salt, brine and sea air. One panellist ended up with bacon, cabbage and lemon, which sounds more like something served for dinner than a whisky note, but weirdly I can see exactly where they were coming from. Another kept things considerably simpler: oily, clean and lots of sweet peat.
At 55.6%, it is interesting to see just how differently the alcohol was perceived. One panellist praised it for having all the flavour while still being remarkably smooth. Others found a definite sharpness, particularly once the sweeter fruit had passed and the wood, charcoal and bitterness started showing themselves.
That difference became one of the dividing lines in the tasting. For some, the sweetness and peat worked together beautifully. For others there was too much happening without everything quite joining up, particularly when honey and vanilla met bitter oak, ash and alcohol. One of the more critical tasters liked a powerful peated whisky in principle, but simply felt this one missed the boat.
Finish
Smoke remained the main thread through the finish, although again there was more happening around it. Liquorice, honey and vanilla lingered alongside ash and campfire, while eucalyptus and menthol brought a fresher edge that a few panellists particularly enjoyed.
Length was another point on which nobody seemed particularly interested in agreeing. Some found it long and warm, with peat and sweetness slowly rolling away. Others put it firmly in medium territory. There were grassier notes towards the end for some, while salt and a slightly bitter edge remained for others.
One of the nicer descriptions had warm smoke arriving in waves, simultaneously sweet and a little spicy. At the other end of the table, bitterness and alcohol were more persistent than the fruit. The whisky certainly didn’t disappear quietly, but exactly what it left behind depended quite heavily on whose glass you were stealing.
DRAM1 Panel Verdict
This Whisky Dudes Caol Ila 10 turned into one of those blind tastings where the individual notes are probably more interesting than simply knowing the final score. The panel had very little trouble establishing that peat was involved, but after that things became rather less certain.
One panellist deserves the bragging rights for actually calling Caol Ila, picking out campfire, heather, citrus and peanut along the way. Elsewhere there were guesses of Lagavulin and Bunnahabhain, someone went towards Highland peat and another started contemplating India or Ireland. Take the distillery name away and apparently Islay becomes a surprisingly large place.
The opinions on quality were just as varied. There were enthusiastic comments calling it a delicious peat whisky, and one taster praised the combination of flavour and smoothness. Another loved the sweet and smoky character, describing the smoke as almost sooty, with menthol appearing at the back and pulling things into balance. The panel repeatedly found honey, vanilla, citrus, fruit and that oily texture alongside the peat.
Others were considerably less convinced. For some that was simply personal preference; peated whisky was never going to be their favourite glass. More interesting were the people who normally enjoy this style but found the whisky too sharp, bitter or disjointed. Burnt oak and charcoal appeared alongside the maritime notes, while one panellist found plenty of peat, campfire, ash, vanilla and honey but felt the sweetness never quite found harmony with everything around it.
That makes the final 74.15/100 feel about right. There is a lot here that worked: oily peat, citrus, honey, vanilla, coastal saltiness, fruit and plenty of smoke. It also isn’t quite polished enough to make everybody happy, and at 55.6% the alcohol occasionally made itself known. Some found it beautifully balanced and surprisingly smooth; others very much did not.
What I particularly like about the results is that the Caol Ila character was there without being so obvious that everyone immediately shouted Islay and went home. There was enough fruit and sweetness to confuse things, enough variation in the peat to send people towards other distilleries and even other countries, yet someone still managed to put the pieces together and identify Caol Ila blind.
At 74.15 Panel Points, this 10-year-old Caol Ila from Whisky Dudes delivered a strong showing in the DRAM1 Indie Award. It didn’t charm everyone, and it certainly wasn’t the whisky for the peat-averse members of the panel, but there were enough empty glasses and enthusiastic tasting forms to show that it found its audience.
And to whoever wrote down Caol Ila before the reveal: enjoy the bragging rights. You earned those.
