Halcyon Spirits Caol Ila 17yo

Halcyon Spirits Caol Ila 17yo

Region: Islay

ABV: 56.0%

Price: £150.00

This release was distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2024. It was matured, presumably, in a bourbon cask before its release. A total of 273 bottles were made available.

Nose

The nose opens with a real medicinal, antiseptic aroma, almost Laphroaig-like. Behind ths, we're getting lots of tar, ash.. there's a lot of peat smoke for the age of the dram - but there's a softer, rounded, bourbon cask vanilla sweetness in the background that points more towards the mid-teens age. As it sits in the glass, that medicinal note receeds and gives way to more salt, sea spray, grilled lemon, muscovado sugar and barbecued pork. The alcohol comes through a little musty, but it's not overpowering.

Palate

The palate opens with a real barbecued meat flavour, sweet and sticky pork ribs, charred corn, roasted hazelnuts, vanilla fondant and fairly prominent ashy peat smoke. The mouthfeel is alright, a little thinner than we'd have expected, but there's still some texture here with flamed lemon rind and slightly burnt caramel lingering into the good length finish. The alcohol is warming, maybe a bit too peppery in places, most prominently on the finish. Time and air brings out liquorice, maple bacon, and ginger puree.

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has much more of a burnt log, bonfire type of smoke now, along with some grapefruit rind, dirty grill grates, and leather. It's lost a lot of the softer, rounder bourbon cask aromas we got before, and it feels slightly off balance now. We'd avoid water on the nose.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate brings more vanilla, creme caramel, burnt toffee and bitter oak. It moves from a sweeter front palate to a drier, oakier finish, with a consistent ashy smoke throughout. The texture and finish length remain mostly the same.Again, we prefer this without any water, although the spice on the palate is slightly mellower.

Conclusion

A pretty good Caol Ila, it gave us Laphroaig notes at the beginning but as it began to open up, the Caol Ila character started to show through. There's a lot of ashy peat mixed with sweet vanilla, smoked meats and a bit of lemon to top it all off. A bit hot in places, but quite enjoyable overall. 

Score: 7/10

Value

£150 seems a little steep, but it’s a tasty dram nonetheless.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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