Color: Bright golden sunshine.
Nose: Without water: Lemon pie. Absolutely fresh, lemony and zesty. I love it! , On the side vanilla ice-cream, with those sweet notes. What a combination! Also some oaky notes, not too heavy but very surprising for a 10 year old malt.
With a few drops of water the nose becomes even more interesting: the melon notes still shine through, but softer melon and marshmallow notes now appear, so delicate yet clearly pronounced.
Palate: with water, there is still an evident punch. Lemons tingle the tongue , green apples, some sweeter notes also (fudge?) and some Coacoa powder as well.
Finish : Medium length with Cocoa, spice and Oaky notes that come echoing back. Quite interesting, and totally unexpected.
I've yet to see an unpeated Caol Ila on the shelves here in Australia, but it certainly sounds like it's worth a look...