Artists and their whiskies

Bought this at a LMDW sale earlier this year. Let's see...

Image from whiskybase

Caol Ila, LMDW Artist Collective, 6 years (abv 43%)

Colour - pale, pale gold.

Nose - Butterscotch, lemon custard. Peat, algae, salt. This is pretty classic Caol Ila. There's notes of fish on this too. Grassy, with almost a floral note. The maritime note grows too, almost like oysters.

Palate - Smoke and charcoal. Salty and buttery. I like salted butter, by the way. None of that tame margarine thingy. Pity that's the only one at home now...for health reasons, of course. There's a growing lemon edge, reminding you that it's Caol Ila. A little bubblegum too. Some bitter fruit peel on the way down...and a bit of a meaty side. Elusive, but I think it's there.

Finish - more of that smoke. I imagine like a cigar. Spiciness grows in the finish, more so than on the palate. There's a bit of oak and bitterness.

Overall - This is good Caol Ila. Is it special? Different? I think it's not unexpected from Caol Ila, which is good if you like a Caol Ila to be like Caol Ila, but maybe nothing special for an Indie bottler. Maybe sweeter and meatier, but otherwise, fairly standard Caol Ila.

The partnership between artists and whisky makers is pretty interesting. I think that people who work a craft have so much in common - dedication to tradition, innovators finding their own voice. Something from a bygone era finding new relevance today...I've a bottle of Glentauchers that was bottled as a commemorative for an Art Museum. Let's see...maybe next month...