So, while you’re reading this, I’ll be in a very, very long sleep while they’re cleaning out the mess inside my middle ear and skull. Thanks for the many support message that I’ve received. Fingers crossed that all goes well.
I wanted to dig into my ‘special samples’ selection for the occasion and I stumbled upon this Caol Ila 1969. It comes from the brown label series of the Connoisseurs Choice range from Gordon & MacPhail. There are several versions but the 17 year old is quite a rare bottle that hardly ever pops up at auctions. These are only 40%, but most of these batches have a great reputation nonetheless.
Caol Ila 17 yo 1969 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ 1986)
Nose: leather, tarry smoke an walnut oils, wet newspapers and hints of charred parsley. It’s smoky, but a different kind of smoke than they have in recent times. Beautifully waxy and resinous smoke, along with old engine oil. Light hints of melon and mandarin in the background. Then onto embrocations, old cigars, a little nutmeg and vanilla. A subtle hint of Manzanilla Pasada too (rare on the market, but track it down).
Mouth: the same kind of bygone smokiness that takes us to old car workshops and a bothy in winter. Old resins again, drops of iodine and nice hints of herbal liqueurs like Benedictine. Peated lime juice. Lightly smoked fish… on tarmac. Then more walnuts, floral honey and old mint. A subtle old bottle effect (shoe polish).
Finish: long, more mineral, with hints of black pepper, lemon balk, menthol and gentle smoke.
This is a softer style of Islay, but rather fabulous. The Manzanilla Pasada note is lovely, but the “pre-reconstruction style” of tarry smoke and resinous / mineral balance is the star of the show. Brilliant.