Caol Ila That Boutique-y Whisky Company 14 Year Old, Refill Hogshead & First Fill Oloroso Octave Cask, Batch No. 23, 2008, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 54.9%

The contrast is the main draw: sweet apple sauce and salted caramel sit alongside beach-bonfire smoke, then the palate turns toward ginger cake, charred pineapple and sooty peat. The finish is described as powerful, with sweet peat, burnt toffee and a long peppery, ashy character. That sounds assertive rather than especially easygoing. The flavour picture is clear, though the cask names alone do not tell us how those casks were used over the whisky’s life.

Reviewed by wildmint_socks

Nose

Sweet apple sauce, Salted caramel, Hints of beach bonfire smoke, Charred lemons

Palate

Sticky ginger cake, Charred pineapple, Salted roast almonds, Sooty peat, Peppery oak

Finish

Sweet peat, Smouldering ash, Burnt toffee, Warm ginger spice, Long peppery and ashy character