Caol Ila is one of the best-loved malts among those who consider themselves cognoscenti. Now part of this is snobbery--the whisky is very hard to find, and equally hard to pronounce correctly--but this doesn't alter the fact that it is a unique and special dram. With its obvious peat and brine, it is clearly an Islay, but unlike its fellow inhabitants of this wonderful whisky island, it has an unexpected lightness and delicacy--if it wasn't for the peat, one could easily mistake it for a Lowland, so refined and feminine are its complex combination of flavors. The 24 year old is another departure. I had never tasted a Caol Ila this old before and found it rounder, richer and fuller than the younger bottlings. It's amazingly gentle and delicate for a peated malt, and the most refined Caol Ila I have ever tasted.