2009 Hepburn’s Choice Caol Ila 7 Years Review

This 2009 Hepburn’s Choice Caol Ila 7 Years was my whisky of the night at a past Malt Nuts. The red wine finishing on this whisky added some nice red fruity notes that contributed to its overall depth and complexity – I even enjoyed the light bit of sulfur that showed up as the whisky opened. Others, that night, not so much.

This was a divisive whisky with more people hating it than liking it. The original owner disliked it so much that, at the end of the night, he was hoping someone wanted to trade. Unfortunately for me, I brought the bottle that was solidly in the bottom and didn’t make the trade list… so I bought the remainder off him instead.

I already, briefly, discussed this whisky in the Malt Nuts: Caol Ila 8 Years and Under tasting, but I enjoyed this one so much I wanted to sit down and give this a proper Scotch review. I’m always curious to see how a whisky “performs” outside of a large tasting environment and in a controlled one (my house)… so here we go.

2009 Hepburn’s Choice Caol Ila 7 Years – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Region: Islay, Scotland

Distiller: Caol Ila
Bottler: Hepburn’s Choice (Hunter Laing)
Bottled For: K&L
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon & ex-red Wine
Age: 7 Years
ABV: 58.2%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Price: $60

White background tasting shot with the 2009 Hepburn's Choice Caol Ila 7 Years bottle and a glass of whiskey next to it.

“Caol Ila rose? Why not? This seven year old 58.2% cask strength edition of smoky Islay single malt whisky was finished in a red wine cask, lending the whisky a salmon color that looks more like Vin de Provence than Scotch.” – K&L

Tasting Notes

EYE
Rose gold

NOSE
Peat, grapey/wine sweetness, vanilla fondant, fruit leather and smoke. It slides through with a combo of dessert-style and coastal-style notes that mingle into a wonderfully balanced delivery.

PALATE
Peat, grapey/wine sweetness, vanilla fondant, fruit leather and smoke with a bit of sulfur and menthol. I love how this 2009 Hepburn’s Choice Caol Ila 7 Years pulls through here with a bit more complexity and warmth but in that same dessert-meets-coastal style and a pop of sulfur

FINISH
Long -> Sweet dried dark fruit, smoke, vanilla and sulfur that mixes to complete the circle while going a bit darker with a rather heavy dried dark fruit note.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great balance, full body and a soft oily feel.

2009 Hepburn’s Choice Caol Ila 7 Years – Overall Thoughts and Score

It’s a bit lacking in depth, but on the whole, this 2009 Hepburn’s Choice Caol Ila 7 Years is some dang tasty whisky with the wine notes mixing incredibly well with the young Caol Ila profile. It’s a combination of profiles that, on paper, might not sound like they would work too well, but mix and blend perfectly in the glass.

That light pop of sulfur adds an extra bit of dimension to the overall profile and covers any potentially spirity notes. The wine finish is nice and I find myself wishing there was more. I think they could have pushed it longer, but maybe that’s why they stopped. As-is it’s left me wanting more to keep exploring it and I wish I could go and snag another.

SCORE: 3.5/5