Port Askaig 17 Year Old

How can you say this is not Caol Ila when you've only tried one expression...? Port Askaig 17yo is a very nice example of what a good independent Coal Ila can be like. Lots of question marks with this review.

@WhiskyNotes I think Olivier can say that because it is his opinion and he is entitled to express it. I notice you have attacked Olivier twice in 24 hours. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that since English is not your first language something is getting lost in translation. If however its not a poor grasp of the subtle niceties of the English language, and you are being vindictive, I suggest you have a little think about whether you want to be part of this community. If the opinions expressed are below your level of experience and frustrate you why not remain in isolation with your (admittedly excellent) blog. If you want to join in then play nice. Fair enough?

@WhiskyP I think you might be being over sensitive. We all have the right to question.

I'm sure no offense was meant or taken anyway. :)

I think alternative viewpoints are great! Obviously @Olivier didn't enjoy this dram, and doesn't compare well to the particular Caol Ila bottling he has had in the past (and therefore probably isn't a Caol Ila. @WhiskyNotes thinks the opposite, and said so. It means that anyone reading this review now gets both points of view, and that is a good thing. The more information readers have, the better informed their decisions as to what drams to buy will be.

So to @Olivier, good review, thanks for putting it together. And to @WhiskyNotes, thanks for sharing your experiences as well! Everyone should keep doing what they are doing... :)

All taken the wrong way IMHO. We should keep on challenging ideas, otherwise we won't get anywhere.

Peas.

:-)

Wow, guys! Thank you for taking the time to read my review and for all the feedback. In the future, I will try to be more circumspect in my pronouncements and I will make sure that they come out in as unpretentious a manner as they were meant to be.

As regards the present review, let me clarify 3 issues.

I did not mean to say this was a bad whisky. A “bad” whisky would have meant, for me, a rating below 5 (a failing grade). As a total neophyte, I would feel extremely uncomfortable passing such a harsh sentence. Actually, as a neophyte, I already feel uncomfortable issuing any rating (the subject of another thread) and therefore I gave it a “B” (70-75%), which in my school years, was always an honorable grade for “essay” subjects where there is no right and wrong answer (such as literature, philosophy, …). I thought that the context of my rating was apparent from the text of my review, but I will try to make it even more so in the future.

My comment that I would not be replenishing this bottle, once it was finished, was not even meant to imply that I did not personally like this whisky. It just reflected the fact that, as a totally unknown neophyte, I have to pay for all the whisky I taste, and as an amateur, I cannot even write it off as a business expense. Therefore, I must make choices in the way I allocate my whisky budget. I did not mean to disparage.

Finally, as a neophyte, I may have been reckless in giving my opinion on the putative provenance of the Port Askaig whisky. And, for awhile, I thought of cutting this part out of my review. As WhiskyNotes pointed out, my experience is limited to the 12yo and 18yo expressions of Caol Ila, while on his site he has reviews for 12 expressions of Caol Ila (including 2 Port Askaig ones). But I finally decided to keep this part of the review for other neophytes, like me, for whom the most accessible and affordable expression of Caol Ila is, in my opinion, the 12yo. I now see that I should have been more careful in specifying that the “Caol Ila taste” that I referred to was only based on my experience with the 12yo and 18yo. Live and learn ;-)

@WhiskyNotes On reflection I may have over reacted with my previous comment, so please accept my appologies. I'm sure you meant no offense. I think Olivier is very bold to express his opinions (right or wrong) and I'd hate new reviewers to feel intimidated, this is after all a wonderful community and I think we're hear to share and learn.

It was never my intention to "attack" olivier in any way, but he made a bold statement, so I think I can make a bold reaction. Everyone has the right to express his opinion or appreciation about a certain whisky, but pretending things about 'the Coal Ila taste' is simply not possible unless you know a distillery in all of its aspects.

@WhiskyP In fact I felt more blown away by your reaction than by the review itself, but no hard feelings!

By the way, there is a good reason why distilleries sell some of their casks to independent bottlers. In many cases, the official distillery profile is quite different from what you can find in independent releases. Since buyers expect consistency from official bottlings, the out-standing (literally) casks end up with the indies but they're still a valid part of the distillery profile as a whole.

Also remember that apart from the Feis Isle release last year, Coal Ila has never released single casks or limited batches. Limited batches are more likely to express an uncommon profile because extreme casks have more to say in the overall mix.

OK. Can I try to summarize, for my education. If I understand you correctly, I did not imagine the marked difference between the 12yo and 18yo official bottlings of Caol Ila and the Port Askaig 17yo. But, had I had more experience I would not have been surprised at this difference, since "In many cases, the official distillery profile is quite different from what you can find in independent releases". Is that correct?

Indeed, differences are normal, and as soon as you are turning to independent releases, the likeliness of going further away from the distillery profile is higher. Still, I don't think the difference between CI 12/18 or this Port Askaig is so big it would make you think it's not Caol Ila.

I was surprised to see your review because you had just said it would take a few weeks before you could really evaluate it (like Lagavulin DE if I remember correctly). I'm looking forward to your opinion in a few weeks ;-)

Calm is restored :)

@WhiskyNotes: Yes, I was planning to wait awhile (and maybe I should have). But then a friend who also really enjoys the Caol Ila 12yo tasted the Port Askaig 17yo and had the exact same reaction as I did. As I had mistakenly assumed that as I liked the Caol Ila 12yo, I would automatically like the Port Askaig 17yo, I wanted help other neophytes by making them aware of my mistake. The road to hell is paved with good intentions ;-)

Anyways, I will try it again in a couple of weeks and add a comment to this thread if it feels markedly different.