Hi Geoff, can’t really say much because I haven’t had the Caol Ila 18 but it does sound pleasant enough. Don’t just understand why distilleries mature whisky for 18( or more) years then before bottling water it down to a weak ABV, add colour and take out all these natural oils, fats, proteins etc, its almost criminal. Cheers Geoff, as always an excellent review. . Slàinte
Good review Geoff. I bought a bottle at the beginning of the year when the price increases were in the pipeline. Both the Talisker and Caol Ila 18 disappeared from the market and I feared I was too late. The Caol Ila did come back to my surprise without the rise and I got 1, just as a Hail Mary to say id given one a go. Not got around to it yet. I really enjoy the OB 12 and a few years ago picked up a 1 litre bottle on travel retail at £40 which was an absolute steal. As you say it's a good distillate that works ok even without craft presentation. As soon as you go down the IB route, the flavours really ramp up of the industrial, oily, sea battered coastal notes which are really lovely.
Totally agree. I've had a lot of brilliant IB Caol Ilas over the years. I still appreciate the OBs, even with their weak specs, but I agree that the most interesting stuff from this brand comes from the IB world. Cheers!
Absolutely agree with the high score. This is one of my favourite whiskies. The experience is better than the Talisker 18 I think. It reminds me of that autumnal Simon and Garfunkel song, Old Friends. I haven’t tried the 25 yo which is almost twice the price, but have baught a second bottle of the 18. In second place, I also particularly love the super oily 1997 special edition 17 yo “unpeated” version. And loved the poem. … Slaint
Man those unpeated CS offerings are great! I've had both the 15 and the 17 before and loved both. They're still available here and I've been mulling over picking one up. Cheers!
Hi, Geoff, I found your channel a couple days ago and I want to thank you because your nice, brief, and informative videos give me just the right amount of knowledge I need to find the right path on my "whisky journey"! So thanks a lot and cheers! I wish you at least 100k subscribers in the next year ;-)
First time I heard anything solid about Port Askaig. Caol Ila seems to be the crispy clean Islay. Never tried an official bottle though. IBs are priced all over the place. It is really hard to cross the line of NCF and coloring. Especially when IBs are available. As an armchair quarterback, I can have some principles but thank you for the review. I am on the verge of buying an IB 12 year wine finished at 46% that is very affordable.
The beauty of Caol Ila is that while the OB line has weak specs we at least have access to the naturally presented IBs as an alternative. There are some really solid ones out there. That 12 year old might be fantastic! Cheers.
Very interesting review, Geoff! I have never seen this one available in Bulgaria since 2019 when I started my whisky journey. Standard 12, Distillers Edition and Moch are all Caol Ila OBs I have access to. I checked the price of the 18 yo at one of big German online retailers. 128,50 €... No, thanks :) I know it is Islay malt and everything Islay just has to be priced over the average and everything over 12 yo is rare and even more overpriced, but still... The oldest Islay, that I have been able to put my fingers on, is a bottle of Douglas Laing "Big Peat's Finest", 15 yo single Hogshead from an undisclosed distillery on Islay, bottled at cask strength of 51.9% ABV. Rumors have it to be either Bowmore or Ardbeg. I paid roughly 96 € and it is already a stretch. Paying over 120 € for Caol Ila 18 will definitely overload my conscience and diminish my enjoyment from what appears to be a very nice dram. Cheers!
Yeah that's too expensive. I paid just under €90 for this in Taiwan, which I think is a good deal. €128 is too much. That Douglas Laing sounds great! Never seen that one here. I'll have to see if I can grab one. Sounds interesting. Cheers!
Amidst the circus that is humanity, particularly on social media, you seem to be one of the better ones. Doesn't it just depress you sometimes to see the state of the world live in, and how immature and superficial we as a species have become?
Heavy post, man. I definitely get depressed at times. I think we all do. Can't say I have any answers or solutions other than enjoy small moments whenever the chance. This may shock you, but I like whisky. A nice whisky shared between friends is one of the best pick-me-ups you can get. Cheesy, but true. Hope you're ok. 🥃
I'm with Frits D four posts down, a belter of a dram and as we know younger whisky loves the peat 🙂 As you know I have a soft spot for that distillery on Mull and the 18 yr Ledaig is so good, guess where a couple of my OSWA votes went ?
Nice review would love to try it. love the Caol Isla 12. At the Lagavulin distillery during the summer I had the pleasure of tasting the Caol Isla 15 year old unpeated at 59.1% on a flight and it was just incredible. It was the oiliest dram I've ever had.
Hi Geoff ! Caol Ila my one of favourite whisky .I buy 2 bottle 15 & 18 y.o. unpeated cask strength release . Just " degusted " 15 y.o. and i like it , very good teaste superrr ABV 59% )))) Cheers !
It’s $90 USD here. I haven’t tried it but based on your review, I will. The low ABV, Chill Filtering, and coloring are all disturbing attributes but expected. As long as I know what I am signing up for, why not? It’s still an 18 year. It’s very difficult to find an 18 year anything for under $100 USD. So not much risk here. Thanks for the review. Diageo assume people will simply accept their watering down, chill filtering, and coloring of otherwise exceptional products (and we do!).
I'm not a huge Caol ila fan, but they used to have these unpeated annual releases bottled at cask strength of a 15 and 17 year old that blew my mind. I'm not sure if they still release them, but if you see them, buy them. They still had some peat in them even though they said unpeated. Phenomenal whiskies.
(( pls dont tell the evil empire about "decent pricing" , it only a matter of time u kno . . . )) another great review : I remember ILA being quite soft + light and oily in nature, now I drink indie bottles of ILA (Blackadder, G&M, Signatory, ..). I remember the ILA-12 for 65$ sitting next to the Lagavulin-12 (75$CAD) and the ILA18 was unsold and went on sale for 80$cad in the late 1990s . . . Back then, peat heads hunt for Talisker, Laga, B'Laddie (Peat 3-D-3 , Moon Edition ...) since ILA was scoffed at as blenders' fodder of "secondary characters" . . . then came the news of Port Elen closing , oh boy ( i recall standing in the cold for blood donation for a few dough for the PE28 and Brora 35) ... in 2022, the ILA18 would cost more than a week of groceries , yes, us numbnuts STILL pay 2.2x UKP exchange rate of 1982, instead of the market rate of 1.6x
I'm glad Caol Ila gets a bit more respect nowadays, although I think a lot of people still do scoff at it. As for your prices... I've said it before. I wouldn't be a whisky drinker in Canada. Highway robbery. Cheers buddy!
Geoff, good review--you have a knack for reviewing underdog/less reviewed whiskies and I really appreciate that. By the way, have you tried. The 17 yo unpeated cask strength version? It's really tasty as well.
Hi Geoff, I have watched most of your videos I love your reviews. I am an occasional drinker, i watched your videos for info + entertainment. I really like your humour. I always have a good laugh and acquired more knowledge of cause after each review. More humour please.
I finished off one of these recently and sad to say I wasn’t that impressed with it. I found very little improvement on the standard 12 for twice the money. It’s definitely got that autumn thing going but as far as 18 year old peaters go it sits fine next to Bowmore but doesn’t come off well against Talisker, Longrow or Ledaig
I'd agree that it's not as good as Talisker, Longrow, or Ledaig. It's much cheaper than the Talisker and Longrow. I also think Ledaig is a better whisky and it's priced about the same. That being said, I still seem to enjoy this more than you do. I do consider it a nice bump above the 12. Cheers Greig!
@@Gwhisky It really depends on the market :D Just kind of sad that these expressions are this expensive when you can get amazing whiskies imho for a round 50-70 euros :/
You should try the signatory vintage bottle distilled at Coal ila distillery. It's 9 years old, unchillfiltered, natural color and 46% abv. Beautifull smoky whisky. I have it for almost a year and i love it.
Great choice of a video. This is a top 18 but....I did a comparison with this and a Hunter Laing 18 a few years ago. The Hunter Laing destroyed it. It is good but the poor abv is so disappointing. Ledaig 18 is well on top of this. Caol Ila 18 is nice but I think it's a £60 and no more. It's a good one but should be cheaper. Personally I would rather the Lagavulin 16. WT
Can't say I've had the Hunter Laing release, but I've had this with the Laga 16 side-by-side with this one and I much prefer this. Matter of taste, or course. In my market it's about £75 and I have no problem paying that. I've heard it's much more expensive in other markets, though. 🥃
The IBs are where it is at with Caol Ila, here in AUS for the same price as the standard 18 I can get something in the same age rage but not coloured, not chill filtered and cask strength... I know which one I am buying 😉
I really enjoy the Caol Ila style, and it’s probably the most underrated distillery in Islay, what’s understandable since DIAGE insists on these mediocre presentation for the whole brand or extremely high prices for the Special Releases. Luckily enough, plenty indie Caol Ilas are available for us…
Yeah really cool that we can try a lot from this brand without having to fall back on the coloured chill filtered 43% OBs. Always nice to have options! 🥃
For me other than the Caol Ila 12 year and the occasional IB that may be realistically priced I may be done with them. I'd love to try this 18 year but I fear if it were to show up in my area it would be over $260. The Port Askaig 18 year went for $225 USD.
This is one of the whiskies that I’m wanting to try since I love the 12, but the price is so high (over €140) for a 43% single malt. Already heard the 12 has more punch, what do you say?
More punch? I wouldn't call the 12 punchy, but compared to the 18 I suppose you could say that. Age tends to soften the peat, so the 18 is definitely on the gentler side. Cheers! 🥃
Yeah they tend to go for the same bottle shape for most of their brands. There are a few exceptions, though. Mortlach, Singleton, Glen Elgin and Cardhu come to mind. But for the most part they seem to like the "standard" look. 🥃
Hi Geoff, can’t really say much because I haven’t had the Caol Ila 18 but it does sound pleasant enough. Don’t just understand why distilleries mature whisky for 18( or more) years then before bottling water it down to a weak ABV, add colour and take out all these natural oils, fats, proteins etc, its almost criminal. Cheers Geoff, as always an excellent review. . Slàinte
Agree. Diageo is gonna Diageo, unfortunately. Tragic that something as old as 18 still undergoes "the treatment."
Good review Geoff. I bought a bottle at the beginning of the year when the price increases were in the pipeline. Both the Talisker and Caol Ila 18 disappeared from the market and I feared I was too late. The Caol Ila did come back to my surprise without the rise and I got 1, just as a Hail Mary to say id given one a go. Not got around to it yet. I really enjoy the OB 12 and a few years ago picked up a 1 litre bottle on travel retail at £40 which was an absolute steal. As you say it's a good distillate that works ok even without craft presentation. As soon as you go down the IB route, the flavours really ramp up of the industrial, oily, sea battered coastal notes which are really lovely.
Totally agree. I've had a lot of brilliant IB Caol Ilas over the years. I still appreciate the OBs, even with their weak specs, but I agree that the most interesting stuff from this brand comes from the IB world. Cheers!
Absolutely agree with the high score. This is one of my favourite whiskies. The experience is better than the Talisker 18 I think. It reminds me of that autumnal Simon and Garfunkel song, Old Friends. I haven’t tried the 25 yo which is almost twice the price, but have baught a second bottle of the 18. In second place, I also particularly love the super oily 1997 special edition 17 yo “unpeated” version. And loved the poem. … Slaint
Man those unpeated CS offerings are great! I've had both the 15 and the 17 before and loved both. They're still available here and I've been mulling over picking one up. Cheers!
Hi, Geoff, I found your channel a couple days ago and I want to thank you because your nice, brief, and informative videos give me just the right amount of knowledge I need to find the right path on my "whisky journey"! So thanks a lot and cheers! I wish you at least 100k subscribers in the next year ;-)
Thank you so much for watching, Mulat. The kind words are very appreciated and I'm happy to hear you like the channel! 🥃🙏
First time I heard anything solid about Port Askaig. Caol Ila seems to be the crispy clean Islay. Never tried an official bottle though.
IBs are priced all over the place. It is really hard to cross the line of NCF and coloring. Especially when IBs are available.
As an armchair quarterback, I can have some principles but thank you for the review.
I am on the verge of buying an IB 12 year wine finished at 46% that is very affordable.
The beauty of Caol Ila is that while the OB line has weak specs we at least have access to the naturally presented IBs as an alternative. There are some really solid ones out there. That 12 year old might be fantastic! Cheers.
Very interesting review, Geoff!
I have never seen this one available in Bulgaria since 2019 when I started my whisky journey. Standard 12, Distillers Edition and Moch are all Caol Ila OBs I have access to.
I checked the price of the 18 yo at one of big German online retailers. 128,50 €... No, thanks :)
I know it is Islay malt and everything Islay just has to be priced over the average and everything over 12 yo is rare and even more overpriced, but still... The oldest Islay, that I have been able to put my fingers on, is a bottle of Douglas Laing "Big Peat's Finest", 15 yo single Hogshead from an undisclosed distillery on Islay, bottled at cask strength of 51.9% ABV. Rumors have it to be either Bowmore or Ardbeg. I paid roughly 96 € and it is already a stretch. Paying over 120 € for Caol Ila 18 will definitely overload my conscience and diminish my enjoyment from what appears to be a very nice dram.
Cheers!
Yeah that's too expensive. I paid just under €90 for this in Taiwan, which I think is a good deal. €128 is too much. That Douglas Laing sounds great! Never seen that one here. I'll have to see if I can grab one. Sounds interesting. Cheers!
Amidst the circus that is humanity, particularly on social media, you seem to be one of the better ones. Doesn't it just depress you sometimes to see the state of the world live in, and how immature and superficial we as a species have become?
Heavy post, man. I definitely get depressed at times. I think we all do. Can't say I have any answers or solutions other than enjoy small moments whenever the chance. This may shock you, but I like whisky. A nice whisky shared between friends is one of the best pick-me-ups you can get. Cheesy, but true. Hope you're ok. 🥃
@@Gwhisky I'll cheers to that! Slainte! 🥃
I'm with Frits D four posts down, a belter of a dram and as we know younger whisky loves the peat 🙂
As you know I have a soft spot for that distillery on Mull and the 18 yr Ledaig is so good, guess where a couple of my OSWA votes went ?
Hah! That's a solid place to put your vote. Huge fan of theirs myself. Cheers!
Nice review would love to try it. love the Caol Isla 12. At the Lagavulin distillery during the summer I had the pleasure of tasting the Caol Isla 15 year old unpeated at 59.1% on a flight and it was just incredible. It was the oiliest dram I've ever had.
Those Cask Strength upeated CIs are absolutely incredible. I haven't had the 19, but I've heard it's amazing!
Hi Geoff ! Caol Ila my one of favourite whisky .I buy 2 bottle 15 & 18 y.o. unpeated cask strength release . Just " degusted " 15 y.o. and i like it , very good teaste superrr ABV 59% )))) Cheers !
The unpeated cask strength releases are liquid gold. Enjoy Light! 🥃
@@Gwhisky thanks)
It’s $90 USD here. I haven’t tried it but based on your review, I will. The low ABV, Chill Filtering, and coloring are all disturbing attributes but expected. As long as I know what I am signing up for, why not? It’s still an 18 year. It’s very difficult to find an 18 year anything for under $100 USD. So not much risk here. Thanks for the review. Diageo assume people will simply accept their watering down, chill filtering, and coloring of otherwise exceptional products (and we do!).
Yeah it's a bit of a rock and a hard place situation. But $90 is very fair for this. Absolutely worth it imo. Cheers Alan! 🥃
Nice poem Geoff! 😊 I think the IB are the way to go here or Port Askaig. Thanks 🙏 take care. Ciao 👋 S.
Hah thanks Sandro. The IBs and Port Askaigs can be wonderful, and almost always have better specs. Cheers!
I'm not a huge Caol ila fan, but they used to have these unpeated annual releases bottled at cask strength of a 15 and 17 year old that blew my mind. I'm not sure if they still release them, but if you see them, buy them. They still had some peat in them even though they said unpeated. Phenomenal whiskies.
I've had them. They're excellent!
(( pls dont tell the evil empire about "decent pricing" , it only a matter of time u kno . . . )) another great review : I remember ILA being quite soft + light and oily in nature, now I drink indie bottles of ILA (Blackadder, G&M, Signatory, ..). I remember the ILA-12 for 65$ sitting next to the Lagavulin-12 (75$CAD) and the ILA18 was unsold and went on sale for 80$cad in the late 1990s . . . Back then, peat heads hunt for Talisker, Laga, B'Laddie (Peat 3-D-3 , Moon Edition ...) since ILA was scoffed at as blenders' fodder of "secondary characters" . . . then came the news of Port Elen closing , oh boy ( i recall standing in the cold for blood donation for a few dough for the PE28 and Brora 35) ... in 2022, the ILA18 would cost more than a week of groceries , yes, us numbnuts STILL pay 2.2x UKP exchange rate of 1982, instead of the market rate of 1.6x
I'm glad Caol Ila gets a bit more respect nowadays, although I think a lot of people still do scoff at it. As for your prices... I've said it before. I wouldn't be a whisky drinker in Canada. Highway robbery. Cheers buddy!
Great review, solid 18y😋
Thanks Primewhisky! Cheers!
Dr Seuss cameo… Nice! Pity I can’t say the same about this whisky.
Hah I'm a fan.
Not had this one yet but I love the Caol Ila 18 Year Old Unpeated 2017 Cask Strength, that is a really good bottle! Cheers!
Those unpeated bottlings are fantastic!
Those rhymes are fire....
😂😂😂
Geoff, good review--you have a knack for reviewing underdog/less reviewed whiskies and I really appreciate that. By the way, have you tried. The 17 yo unpeated cask strength version? It's really tasty as well.
Thanks so much, Alan! I have tried a couple of the Unpeated Caol Ilas. Fantastic whiskies! 🥃
Hi Geoff, I have watched most of your videos I love your reviews. I am an occasional drinker, i watched your videos for info + entertainment. I really like your humour. I always have a good laugh and acquired more knowledge of cause after each review. More humour please.
Hah glad to hear my dumb jokes are actually amusing to someone out there. Thanks for the kind words! 🥃
One of the best CI there is (maybe apart from CS Distillery Ed.) however the price tag on it is waaaaaaaay off
I don't mind it for the price. Here it sells for under USD $90. I'm good with that.
I finished off one of these recently and sad to say I wasn’t that impressed with it. I found very little improvement on the standard 12 for twice the money. It’s definitely got that autumn thing going but as far as 18 year old peaters go it sits fine next to Bowmore but doesn’t come off well against Talisker, Longrow or Ledaig
I'd agree that it's not as good as Talisker, Longrow, or Ledaig. It's much cheaper than the Talisker and Longrow. I also think Ledaig is a better whisky and it's priced about the same. That being said, I still seem to enjoy this more than you do. I do consider it a nice bump above the 12. Cheers Greig!
Recently found your channel! Enjoying your reviews very much. Curious how you ended up in Taiwan.
Glad to hear you're enjoying the channel. I came to Taiwan to travel and teach in my 20s and I fell in love with the place!
Here locally it literally costs as much as the Talisker 18 :D both around 145-150 euros
Ok, well then no. Hah.
@@Gwhisky It really depends on the market :D Just kind of sad that these expressions are this expensive when you can get amazing whiskies imho for a round 50-70 euros :/
You should try the signatory vintage bottle distilled at Coal ila distillery. It's 9 years old, unchillfiltered, natural color and 46% abv. Beautifull smoky whisky. I have it for almost a year and i love it.
If you like that one I would recommend the Douglas Laing Old Particular 10 year old Caol Ila bottlings which I rate even higher than the Signatory.
Sounds great! I've had some wonderful Signatory Caol Ilas in the past!
@@sambrewster8556 Sounds great. Thanks for the recommendation. I wil try on if i see one.
What happened to the 15-year Geoff? It is Cask Strength? Probably not chill filtered, probably colored but good. No peat though 😮
Fantastic whiskies. Those are special releases. I was discussing core range. But yeah... definitely could have included them!
Great review. I’m a big fan of Caol Ila IB’s. Don’t know if you get Ingelred bottlings inTaiwan. They have a 10 yr Caol Ila that’s good.
Can't say I've seen that one specifically but we get loads of IBs here, so it's one to look out for. Appreciate the suggestion! 🥃
Great choice of a video. This is a top 18 but....I did a comparison with this and a Hunter Laing 18 a few years ago. The Hunter Laing destroyed it. It is good but the poor abv is so disappointing. Ledaig 18 is well on top of this. Caol Ila 18 is nice but I think it's a £60 and no more. It's a good one but should be cheaper. Personally I would rather the Lagavulin 16. WT
Can't say I've had the Hunter Laing release, but I've had this with the Laga 16 side-by-side with this one and I much prefer this. Matter of taste, or course. In my market it's about £75 and I have no problem paying that. I've heard it's much more expensive in other markets, though. 🥃
The IBs are where it is at with Caol Ila, here in AUS for the same price as the standard 18 I can get something in the same age rage but not coloured, not chill filtered and cask strength... I know which one I am buying 😉
That's a pretty east decision. I can find some Caol Ilas IBs in a similar price range but they wouldn't be able to match the age. Cheers! 🥃
I don’t think I’ve ever had a Caol Illa lol. It’s on my list to buy if on sale.
The OBs are a bit light, but good. Some killer IBs floating around, though! Worth checking them out! 🥃
I really enjoy the Caol Ila style, and it’s probably the most underrated distillery in Islay, what’s understandable since DIAGE insists on these mediocre presentation for the whole brand or extremely high prices for the Special Releases.
Luckily enough, plenty indie Caol Ilas are available for us…
Yeah really cool that we can try a lot from this brand without having to fall back on the coloured chill filtered 43% OBs. Always nice to have options! 🥃
Mouthwatering....definitely my type.😋 Here's tough one: Talisker and Caol Ila 18, which do you like more?
Not that tough. Talisker! 🥃
I will be incredibly looking forward to it if Caol Ila win.🤤 Who can beat Talisker in the 18yo category!
True. Definitely one of the best! 🥃
For me other than the Caol Ila 12 year and the occasional IB that may be realistically priced I may be done with them. I'd love to try this 18 year but I fear if it were to show up in my area it would be over $260. The Port Askaig 18 year went for $225 USD.
That's absurd pricing. I paid less than USD $100 for this bottle. 🥃
Have never seen it offered in my area at all
yo can you please not tell people how incredibly good this bottle is? i need at least SOME 18 year olds to stay under the radar and affordable haha
Hah oops!
Caol Ila 25 was opened a few days ago. Slanche…
Awesome! Love the CI25. Enjoy! 🥃
This is one of the whiskies that I’m wanting to try since I love the 12, but the price is so high (over €140) for a 43% single malt. Already heard the 12 has more punch, what do you say?
More punch? I wouldn't call the 12 punchy, but compared to the 18 I suppose you could say that. Age tends to soften the peat, so the 18 is definitely on the gentler side. Cheers! 🥃
Notice how many of the Diageo scotches come in the same bottle shape? This, Talisker, Lagavulin (I think), Clynelish, more I can't recall right now
Yeah they tend to go for the same bottle shape for most of their brands. There are a few exceptions, though. Mortlach, Singleton, Glen Elgin and Cardhu come to mind. But for the most part they seem to like the "standard" look. 🥃
Hey Geoff, how about the unpeated caol ilas?
Love them! Incredible whiskies!
Please, do NOT drink and drive!