Caol Ila 31 Year (SMWS 53.504 "Maritime Drift")

 

There is something a little magical about very old whisky (30+ years old) ... it tends to balance out, sharp corners get rounded, harsh alcohol hits evaporate, and in general most old whisky tends to gain a lot of depth, but the sheer time required for the investment means that it's expensive and few people end up trying them.

There is also specifically a little magical about very old Islay whisky. All the things people commonly object to: the peat, the smoke, the medicinal aspects, the bracing strength, the general in-your-face nature ... well, they can be civilized by time, reigned in. Secret strengths can be revealed. 

Of course, you can have too much of a good thing as well... when I was first starting out with whisky, I was bewildered when I heard about "wood poisoning" - not actual poisoning, but sometimes the whisky spends so much time with the wood that the wood takes over and all you taste is sawdust, pepper, spoonfuls of baking spices. Eventually I had some overaged whisky and I understood. 

That raises the other half of the problem with old whisky - the maintenance and investment costs are high enough - and stocks generally low enough - that the bottles are priced out of reach for most people. And many are purchased by collectors and investors who just plan to wait a few years and then auction them off - meaning they are more scarce than they should be.

I should also say that I'm no expert - in 15 years of drinking scotch, I've only probably had 20-25 drams that were 30+ years old. The best were a few ancient Laphroaigs (wonderful) and a very old Ardmore. The worst was easily a 32-year anCnoc from the SMWS that was awful, really poor, and helped encourage my decision to leave the SMWS for a year or two and pivot to other bottlers.

So here we have a 31 year Caol Ila - the most ubiquitous of Islay whiskies, infamously owned by Diageo - there have been persistent but nebulous rumors that Diageo was cutting off sales of Caol Ila to indy bottlers, and they have rather notoriously used most Caol Ila to enrich the Johnnie Walker line and kept the official bottling to a pleasant but pedestrian 12 year offering... still the output of Caol Ila is so high (6,500,000 liters annually, compared to 2,000,000 for Ardbeg and 3,300,000 for Laphroaig) that they have had a LOT to sell over the years. 

This cask was distilled in 1993 and left to age in first fill ex-bourbon for 31 years, where it suffered remarkably little angel's share, coming in at 52.8% ABV. Here are the official tasting notes from SMWS: 

The nose began with the scent of a boat builder’s workshop and the warm, sanded oak of a ship’s hull being prepared for the open sea. Black cardamom, honey and sweet popcorn were followed by smoky pears and butterscotch, carrying the essence of a summer drought on a heather moor. The maritime breeze brought sea air and a dark, estery note of blackcurrant jam. The palate was sweet and tooth-coating, with smoked pink grapefruit zest, pear juice and honey-glazed lobster. Water revealed toffee apples, lemon-dressed prawns and a finish of thick vanilla sponge cake, anchoring the experience in elegant depth.

That's quite a melange of flavors - cardamom, popcorn, pears, currants, lobster (!)... well, the SMWS is known for getting a little fanciful at times. Let's see how much is puffery and how much is real:

Nose: Soft and a little shy at first. Old wood, lemon poppy cake, BBQ meat (pork chops, shrimp), some light iodine, big seashore notes (salt water, sand, wet rocks), a bit of creme brulee, a lot of soft smoke (charcoal and ash, tar and rope), and pleasant spice (salt and pepper blend, paprika, nutmeg). 

There's a lot going on, but it takes a while to pull it all apart - it's a dense nose. 

Mouthfeel: Soft, very oily, light-bodied. 

Palate: Very rich - a burst of honey-glazed lemon, thick and almost savory custard (like flan), charred citrus peel, charcoal and ash, cooked apple, rocks/minerals, sea salt, sand - it's heavily maritime - combined with old wood, spices, and peat. The honey sticks out the most, the rest are roughly equal/harmonized with each other. 

Interestingly, it does best in very very small sips, where the flavors really explode across the tongue. A lot of the development is lost in larger sips. 

It's very rounded-off, like many 30+ year whiskies are. No sharp flavors, no hard corners on anything - it's quite soft and the alcohol is completely integrated (zero burn on the tongue). 

Finish: Sprite soda (lemon/lime effervescence), polished wood, gentle wave of peat and ash, and a lingering halo of vanilla extract. 

Interestingly, it doesn't sit in your mouth for eons like so many Caol Ilas do - the smoke lifts fairly quickly. A medium-length finish. 

Verdict: Exceptional. I could drink this all day and night. 

It's fascinating because it's so recognizably Islay - specifically Caol Ila, with the sweet lemon and tar and ash - and it's simultaneously so demonstrably old ... yet it's so lively. 

I've had a few Very Old Islays, mostly Laphroaigs and Ardbegs at paid dinners or events, and most of them felt Very Old immediately on the nose; on the palate they had lost a lot of muscularity, a lot of brawn, but gained dimension and subtlety. 

This has gained those layers, but definitely still has some push left in it, for sure. It's wonderful stuff, I'm a huge fan, and it was worth the cost. Highly recommended.