Let these beauties be dedicated to 11 000 pageviews which occured quite quickly after we hit 10 000 mark.
Caol Ila 25 yo 1978/2003 59.4% - 6000 bottles released in first 25 yo CS release.
Nose: intense, wood smoke, salt, seaweed and sweet apples, touch of gouache paint and fresh anise note.
Taste: very powerful, I'd better add some water... Imagine you're licking salty wet stones on the sea shore :) Some malty and oak notes as well. And drop of lemon juice of course. Wonderful!
Finish: long, sweet, smoky and tannic, perfectly balanced.
Overall: great Caol Ila at a very good price comparing to other 25 yo official Islay malts.
Score = 22 23 23 23, 91/100!
Caol Ila 25 yo 1984/2010 Bladnoch Forum cask #5388 54.1% - 265 bottles released, bourbon cask maturation.
Nose: lighter than official 25 yo, developing more on minerals and even some medicine. Vegetable oil, seaweed and must be lemons. Quite austere but that's Ila itself. Though I liked previous nose notch better.
Taste: ashy and oily with lots of lemons, smoke and sea. Some malty sweetness and roasted bacon. Power and character are there:)
Finish: long, peaty and earthy with tons of salt and touch of liquorice.
Overall: it differs from official 25 yo (more minerals in the nose, more ashes and bacon in taste, more earth in finish), though I'd say the first one has better balance. Quite often when you have small batch consisting of several casks you get better result comparing to single cask with its advantages and flaws. Very enjoyable nevertheless, whether it's worth EUR 200 - 250 it's up to you.
Score = 21.5 23 22.5 22, 89/100!
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