Johnnie Walker Gold

2007-08-29T19:31:00.001-07:00

Scotch Pick of the Week 122606

This week was the Christmas holidays for us and you really can't go through the holidays without a few libations. Especially scotch.

Now being open minded and all, I decided to sway from my single malt fixation and take a good look at Johnnie Walker. I've picked up a few bottles of JW Black in the past few years and it's nice, but I've been a bit of a scotch snob and focused mostly on the well-marketed single malts.

For this holiday season I decided to go for the Johnnie Walker Gold. It's a blend of scotch whiskies and is 18 years old. Now I've been eyeing up the Johnnie Walker Blue, but at $150 or so, just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on something that's not single malt and at least 25 years old.

Well, after trying out JW Gold, I don't think I'll bother with the Blue. Gold was very nice. Smooth, mellow and smoky, this one is good enough that I plan on giving a bottle to a fellow scotch loving friend.

Caol Isla Scotch

2007-02-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I cannot pronounce it correctly, but the aroma and taste of 18 year old Caol Isla is a thing of beauty. Smoky and smooth, this well-aged scotch is a great compliment to the imaginary Cuban cigars I am now relegated to.

More about this fine 18 year old:

The Distillery
Caol Ila is hidden in a quiet cove near Port Askaig. Many consider this locality to be the wildest and most picturesque of the island. Situated on Loch Nam Ban, the site is ideal thanks to the abundant supply of good water.

Caol Ila (Gaelic for 'the Sound of Islay') was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson - a Glasgow businessman with a keen interest in distilling. Like Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich, the development of Caol Ila created along with it, a community of its own. Without these distilleries, it is likely that there would have been little sustained human interference in these areas at all.

The Distillery Today
In 1857 Henderson went out of business and the distillery was purchased by Bulloch Lade & Co. The Distillers Company Limited took over management in 1927. From this date production continued until 1972, when the entire structure of the distillery was demolished. A larger distillery was built in the same original architectural style, and production resumed in 1974.

The Whisky
Caol Ila is considered to be one of the lighter of the Islays. Medium-bodied with a rounded flavour. Pale in colour with a greenish tinge. This malt has a peaty nose, with distinct floral notes. It is described as tasting slighty of seaweed/iodine, lightly.

Where I live, Caol Isla runs about $66 which is pretty inexpensive for a fine 18 year old scotch. What I would really like to try is the 25 year old, but there were only 6,000 bottles produced in 2005 so I suspect the cost would be close to $500 and difficult to find.

Wikipedia has an entry, but I don't think there is an official, stand alone web site for the Caol Isla distillery.

Scotch Enthusiast

Johnnie Walker Gold

Scotch Pick of the Week 122606

Caol Isla Scotch