Scotch

Scotch Whisky Review: Halcyon Spirits Caol Ila 17 Year Old 2007

A single cask expression of Caol Ila from the brilliant minds at Halcyon Spirits. They’re a rather new bottler but have hit the ground running with some very impressive releases from well sought-after distilleries.

OVERALL RATING

9
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Tasting Notes

About:

A single cask expression of Caol Ila from the brilliant minds at Halcyon Spirits. They’re a rather new bottler but have hit the ground running with some very impressive releases from well sought-after distilleries.
Appearance:
Oloroso Sherry
Nose:
A wonderful mix of tropical fruit and salty, Islay smokiness. The first ew smells are all of pineapple, mango and peach with all of these softer banana notes. Along side this is brown sugar, caramel, toffee sauce, brown butter, and then comes the smoke. Salty, peated, seaweed, and arguably has a more potent nose of smoke than a lot of the recent Octomore releases. Underneath all of the smoke is still fresh green apple, more brown sugar and butter – and even some cinnamon and ginger notes. Quite the long, and all encompassing smell that seems to linger on forever.
Palate:
A nice sweet start with all of those tropical fruit favours still pushing their way to the front of the queue. The smokiness is more more present on the palate – we have these waves of salt, seaweed, ginger, softer notes of chilli mixed in with the peat. But outside of all of that is still this wonderful sweetness that seems to balance everything out. Those brown sugar/crème brûlée notes are incredible. So much vanilla, chocolate, caramel, this is one of the best independent Caol Ila’s I’ve tried in a long time.
Finish:

Some slightly more bitter notes towards the end, but still keeping up with those powerful sweet notes, too. that biting, tangy note of fresh green apple is still running through the whole thing. The bitter notes remind me of Amaro, orange bitters, rye spice, and more ginger notes. you could even go into this bitter, dark chocolate note as well. An incredibly complex spirit with so many things going on. And at the same time, so typically Islay.

Comments:
I love this. Everything i’e tried from Halcyon Spirits has been an absolute winner, their Clynelish and burnside releases especially – but this sits right up there with them. A sublime example of Caol Ila that every Islay whisky fan should try to seek out and sample.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer is a freelance whisky writer and consultant. With a decade of experience in whisky retail and nearly as long running Whisky Wednesday on YouTube, Phil is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow whisky lovers. His goal is to make whisky accessible and enjoyable, dispelling the jargon and complexity that can sometimes surround the spirit. In addition to his online presence, Phil managed The Whisky Shop Manchester, where he curated an impressive selection of some of the finest drams available.

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