Dr. Scotchtagon Presents: Caol Ila 12-Year

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

If you follow this blog regularly, you know the doctor enjoys smokey scotches. There are a shitload of commercials during this UFC telecast, so I figured I’d try to sneak in a review.

Most of the big drinks conglomerates have at least one Islay representative. LVMH owns Ardbeg, Beam, Inc. owns Laphroaig and Diageo, which has the largest and most illustrious stable of scotches, owns Caol Ila, among others. Diageo also produces Johnnie Walker, a blended whisky (blended meaning a combination of different spirits made from different grains from different distilleries) and while they are relatively hush hush about what actually goes into a bottle, it’s pretty well accepted that Caol Ila contributes to that smokey flavor that you find in Johnnie Walker’s Black and Double Black labels.

By virtue of its use in ultra-popular blends, Caol Ila is the highest capacity distillery in Islay, but probably doesn’t sell as much of the single malt as some of the other distilleries. As our editor always requires us to be above board with everything, I need to disclose that I own shares in Diageo in order to hedge against rises in scotch prices. [[MORE]]

I’ve already reviewed Ardbeg 10-Year and Laphroaig Quarter Cask in this space. Given the relatively high price of this bottle of Caol Ila 12-Year (almost sixty bucks at my usually cheap liquor store), I have to say I would not buy it again. It is good, oily and not as smokey as the other two mentioned. Nicely balanced, but I definitely prefer both the Laphroaig and the Ardbeg. I even prefer the regular 10-Year Laphroaig. That’s not to say that this is a bad scotch, it’s nicely balanced and sweet, but I think Ardbeg and Laphroaig have a little more nuance to them, and I definitely like a little more peat.

I’ll give the Caol Ila 12-Year a 150 out of 158.3. I like it and I’m almost done with the bottle, but it gets a major deduction for being a little pricey. If you like Black Label, but want something smokier and don’t mind the extra cost, give this a shot.