When I think of a good independent bottler of single malt scotch whiskies, I often think of someone bottling a corker of a Caol Ila. There have been numerous great examples of them across a variety of different ages and barrels. The malt just lends itself to great single casks.
So… how does Saltire make their mark on the genre with their first Caol Ila release – and 7th release in general?
Armed with cask #313181, a refilled American oak hogshead, the spirit was distilled 21st August 2007 and bottled on 22nd August 2024 making this cross the 17 year old threshold and it yielded 273 bottles.
The Islay single malt spirit was captured at 48.8% ABV at its natural colour and without chill-filtration. Full sized bottles of the whisky are available at RRP £179 GBP.
Nose
A straight-up one-two combo of clean peat and citrus that I associate best with this distillery. Smoked meat, salty seafood, and olive notes really deliver on a punchy nose.
Palate
Wow – that smoke and white pepper spice really zip around the tonsils. The smoke really reminds me of a wood-fired pizza taste and it also has shellfish and lemon peel notes (not sure I’d eat that pizza though).
Finish
Lingering smoke, maple cured crispy bacon, citrus, and white pepper all zip around on the tastebuds for a while after the liquid has gone.
Verdict
This is the kind of nose and profile where, during a blind tasting, I would swear that it is a Caol Ila – and it seldom is! But this time – it is here front and centre: citrus and peat by the bagful.
What’s also noticeable about this whisky is the fire to it (pepper and oak spice) whilst staying soft and silky in texture. A good malt body underneath the log fire chimney smoke too. Spot on for the season.
The Saltire team have bagged themselves a beauty here and with quite the bit of provenance too. Most of their releases are in the early teens, but here were are up to 17 years in the cask and the peat is still really present but with good clean malt. There doesn’t seem to be that peaty drop off (yet) that an older peated single malt can start to experience – unless it was very much peated when it went into that hogshead! This is what you want out of a Caol Ila.
Another great malt from Saltire Rare Malt Whisky and what a showcase of single malts they appear to have in their roster. Some big ages in there, with the admirable honesty of natural colour and no chill-filtration, all served at a hearty – but still approachable – strength of 48.8% ABV – I’d love to have been at the tasting sessions to decide on that one!
M
Sample disclosure: This sample was received as part of a Tweet Tasting event run by The Whisky Wire using #SaltireRareMaltWhisky. All notes are intended as an honest, fair, and independent review of the whisky, and not as a promotion. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
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