Caol Ila – 2008/2025 17 Year Old 1st Fill Amontillado Hogshead #306604 (Best Dram) (70cl, 51.9%)

This Caol Ila single malt Scotch whisky was distilled on 9 April 2008 and bottled on 17 June 2025 by Michel Reick for Best Dram. It matured for 17 years in a first-fill Amontillado sherry hogshead, cask 306604, yielding 262 bottles at cask strength. The whisky is neither coloured nor chill-filtered. Dry, nutty sherry notes meet maritime peat smoke, while dried fruit and citrus add sweet and fresh accents; pepper, oak, salt and liquorice give spice and a salty contrast. The nose shows intense peat smoke beside salty sea air, with nuts, dried fruit, pepper, a hint of oak and citrus. The palate combines peat smoke, nuts and spices with sweet dried fruit, feeling soft, smooth and full-bodied, with subtle oak spice and mild salty liquorice. The finish is long and intense, with smoke, mild pepper and oak spice alongside nutty dryness, sea salt and lingering sweet dried fruit.