2005 Gordon & Macphail Caol Ila Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

A Caol Ila distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2016 by Gordon & Macphail. This comes with two notable credentials - cask strength and wholly matured in four first fill Sherry butts. Expect smokey dates? Banana and bonfire embers? Notes from the bottlers suggest a medium bodied whisky, "...peppery initially followed by sweet bursts of cherry and raspberry with hints of crystallised ginger. A dried tobacco edge develops on the finish and is complemented by a touch of menthol. 57.3% ABV and non chill filtered.

Owned by corporate giant Diageo and famous as a key component in the Johnnie Walker blends, Caol IIa is a lively whisky, both peaty and full of flavour, without being as intense as its more famous counterparts. The name, - pronounced 'culleela', is gaelic for 'Sound of Islay'. The distillery is appropriately hidden in a cove near Port Askaig, overlooking the Sound of Islay, across which the ferry chugs to the nearby island of Jura.