Caol Ila 15yo

Thanks to the finish for 30 months in an extremely old first fill butt which had contained Oloroso sherry for more than sixty years, this is a very different style of Islay malt: very dry, very austere, sharp as a blade. At the nose it takes by surprise with a very sour note: balsamic vinegar, green apples, and of course the expected leather and peat smoke. The same unusual fruitiness and pleasantly sour character returns at the first sip: red cherries, a hint of pear and citrus, before turning impressively ashy. Its style remains always very astringent. The tannic influence of the cask is particularly evident towards the end: again very leathery, very dry, with the pleasant bitterness of black unsugared liquorice.