Caol Ila 12 review #41 with The Whiskey Novice

Welcome to a new series. This time, in review #41, it's part 1 of a series of 13 looking at 12 year old Scotch single malts. Maybe all of your favourite 12yr old single malts won't be in there...but I'll try my best.
Part 1 is one of my favourite Islay whiskys...Caol Ila 12.
Enjoy.
Caol Ila: www.malts.com/en-gb/visit-our...
Diageo: www.diageo.com/
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Cheers.

[@Koby616]

Great intro 👏 I only had a glass of it, but it's a nice one. Would love to get my own bottle😊

[@alanmcloughlin909]

You have done something very clever here Jim, I struggle to keep up with the whisky content so much so that I don’t often jump into the back catalogue of videos when I follow a channel but your Intros are so good i have to see them all!

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Alan. Much appreciated mate.

[@richardagnew4959]

Jim, I find these types of videos so helpful so that I don't go out and buy bottles that I'm not going to like. Years ago someone foisted a Laphroaig on me as a joke and I've always shyed away from smokey peated whiskies since. I'd love to try that Caol Ila though. Thanks again for your time and review! :)

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Richard.

[@Peter_Box]

Hi Jim. I agree with your comparo completely. Looking forward to the next 12 in your baker's dozen.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Peter. 🥃

[@LPKJFHIS]

Man do I love your tasting notes. I can’t get sweet ham out of my mind. I really look forward to tasting along with you. Coming to this from longrow, I like it much more than coming to it from laphroig first. That island vibe of tropical fruits that you describe in hazelburn is made incredibly present in the longrow when a/b-ing with caol ila. You get that super heavy and oily mouthfeel from the longrow that one can only imagine the caol ila could have had if it had not been chill filtered. In my mind they seemed to be quite similar, but again the longrow surprised me as having a much longer finish than the caol ila even though in my mind it seemed medium at best. Nonetheless the caol ila is quite gorgeous in its subtlety. Thanks for the great review and for stirring my thoughts.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

🙏 thank you for the kind words my friend. I'm glad to be of service. Cheers.

[@richardbarrick1492]

Jim! Can't believe you didn't clear your palate bef. tasting the two-- a sip of 🌿 branch water is worth a try 😂🤔

[@budj13]

What a great choice to kick off your baker's dozen. Wow, your nose is picking up so much more than I can find-- that makes me the novice's novice. I'm learning from you, my friend. I just picked up a bottle of this two weeks back and I'm really enjoying it. Fresh, nice mouth feel, and that pleasant bbq smoke balancing out the sweet. Wow, you get this cheap-- it is $70-80 in the US while the Laphroaig 10 is only $40.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Bud. It really is a pleasantly different peated experience. It surprises me a bit that Diageo do tend "overprice" this a little as comparèd to other Islay offerings, but I suppose that's their choice. I actually just picked up another Laphroaig 10 but just too late to feature it in this review. I do struggle a bit with peated whisky when it's hot outside though 😓😄. Thanks mate.

[@ThisIsNotACigar]

Very decent dram. I like to pour this when I introduce people to whisky to check out if they're going to start their journey as peatheads or not.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Good call.

[@MattsCigarsAndWhisky]

Great whisky, great review and a great prenounciation of Islay 😂😂

[@WhiskeyNovice]

😁 cheers Matt.

[@utsteinproductions]

This is the one that got me into peat. It just gets better as the bottle opens up. Cannot wait to get Lagavulin 16!

[@davidowen2834]

Couldn't agree more Jim. Diageo at least keep Caol ila 12 at a good constant quality. Ok its coloured and chill filtered but I really like this stuff. Good review Jim. Cheers. 👍

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers David. Much appreciated mate.

[@WhiskeyStraightAl]

You’re killing with these intros Jim - first class. Now I’ll take you back to when I was a much younger more spritely fellow. The good lady wife presented me with a bottle of this on one of my 30-something birthdays. It was the only time she’s ever bought me a bottle of whisky for a birthday, probably because I hated it and despite a few attempts to get on with it, I gave it a friend in an exchange for Laphroaig 10. My palate has evolved lots since then so chances are I would not have the same reaction now. Haven’t tried it since though. Perhaps I need to. Cheers mate.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

😄😄 cheers Al. Trading gifts from the mrs. Tut, tut. 😄😄 This is a very balanced whisky. One worth keeping an eye out for if on sale. Cheers mate.

[@WhiskeyStraightAl]

Whiskey Novice she has never forgiven me🤷‍♂️

[@LPKJFHIS]

Hahaha that intro. Loved it

[@ryanmccleave3562]

Haven't had the chance to taste this! Been meaning to get a bottle for ages now. Bakers dozen category is a great idea, i'm interested to see what other 12 year old's will popup :) Great review, cheers buddy!

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Ryan. This Caol Ila really is a worthwhile purchase.

[@arnetiger111]

One of the favorites.

[@paulgibbs3624]

I always seem to have a bottle of this knocking about, love a good indy bottle of Coal Ila too. Always good value, cheers Jim.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

I'm really gonna have to get an IB. Everyone is saying there are some great ones about.

[@paulgibbs3624]

@@WhiskeyNovice I've had some crackers, SMWS and North Star 👍

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Great review, Jim, and it is relevant to mention this LAPHROAIG in particular, even if it is different, as you said, because those 2 are great value whiskies & great value peated Scottish single malts as well...I often advise this CAOL ILA yes because of its remarkable consistency over the years...It has been launched in 2002 only, mind you, and, it will become a Diageo "Classic Malt" afterwards, in the second wave that appears if not mistaken in 2006, at the time were LAGAVULIN was facing a shortage of its 16 yo good quality casks to sustain the production of it (I can tell because I've tried some tired casks batches from LAGAVULIN of that time, late 2005 & early 2006) that were almost disastrous, also some Diageo staff confirmed it to me, on a private basis though). So they added CAOL ILA & a bunch of other distilleries in the Classic Malt range, released also a "Distiller's Edition" of it & that was it. The CAOL ILA 12 yo (& later on the 18 yo) proved this distillery had his say in top quality whiskies, despite the fact most of it goes into blended whiskies, like you said (& not only JW). Also I can maybe advise your viewers to check the young indie bottlings from both CAOL ILA & LAPHROAIG, because there are regularly great single casks or small batches released on the market (they are probably among the most common & currently sold by indie bottlers btw) and this in many differents brands (...). Cheers Jim & keep up the good work & this 12 yo series is a good idea !

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Greg. And thanks for all the added info.

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

@@WhiskeyNovice Always welcome ! 🙏

[@WhiskyWhims]

Nice one mate, another great to review! You're flying mate.

[@maltymission]

Really should pay this some new attention. Went though quite a few bottles when I frist got into whisky, but it was one of those you liked, but sort of 'forgot', or rather 'overlooked' as you progressed on your journey and focussed more on IB expressions of Caol Ila (which frankly can be quite spectacular).

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Cheers Menno. Yet to try any IBs of Caol Ila yet. One day.

[@maltymission]

@@WhiskeyNovice Currently not one in the cabinet, but mental note has been made to 'send Jim some' :-)

[@WhiskeyNovice]

@@maltymission 😄😉 cheers mate. Still holding a little Mellow Corn back for you. Will gather a few others and send them soon.

[@WhiskyShared]

Grégoire said I should get a bottle of this. I've spent my whisky allowance for the next few months at least but I'm going to get a bottle as soon as I can.

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Yeah it was Greg I was talking about when I suggested late in the video about someone in the community saying it's one of the best single malts under £50. Saw your tweet. It is a worthwhile Islay to have mate. Cheers Toby.

[@maltymission]

@@WhiskeyNovice yeah, Greg is almost always right on the money