Samaroli's Caol Ila 2018 is an Islay single malt — distilled at Caol Ila on the Sound of Islay, where the seaside maltings deliver the lightly-peated coastal style customers reach for in single malts. The Madeira-cask finish trades the typical bourbon-cask citrus for darker, fortified-wine sweetness. MATURATION: Caol Ila 2018 distillate, one year in a bourbon cask before transfer to a Madeira cask for six further years; bottled 2025 by Samaroli. Limited bottling, natural colour, non-chill-filtered. SUGGESTIONS: serve at 18°C in a tulip glass, with a few drops of still water if desired. Pairs with smoked salmon, an aged Manchego or a chocolate-and-fig dessert; the dried-fruit register holds up to richer plates. Cigar match: a Honduran corojo or Nicaraguan criollo, neither overpowering nor lost in the smoke.
Tasting notes
Deep coppery amber with ruby glints.
Iodine peat, woodsmoke, dried fruits, old honey, candied orange peel.
Dense, oily texture; brown sugar, saline notes, integrated smoke, Madeira raisins.
Long, briny and woody, on cocoa nib and gentle ash.
Samaroli has bottled single casks since 1968, founded in Rome by Silvano Samaroli, an Italian pioneer of independent bottling at a time when most European enthusiasts knew whisky only through the official blends.The house picks its casks one by one, free of fashion, and releases its series with natural colour, no chill filtration, and a graphic restraint that sets it apart from the competition.
