An LMDW exclusive

Created by La Maison du Whisky for its website whisky.fr and dedicated exclusively to the Caol Ila distillery, whose initials it shares, the Chess Investigation range is composed of single casks of various maturations and vintages bottled at cask strength or lower. The fourth chapter in this Caol Ila saga, entitled The Accomplice, this version finished in a Ballechin Burgundy cask beautifully sets the scene for the complicity that unites these two single malts with strong characters throughout the tasting. This almost perfect symbiosis reaches its height on the finish when, with an altruism and magnanimity that ranks it among the greats, Caol Ila decides to head to faraway lands, leaving Ballechin the distillery keys.

Profile: the powerful first nose is very peppery, peaty/floral (purple lilac), fruity (orange) and honeyed (acacia). Allowed to breathe, it becomes chocolatey, iodine, salty and camphoric. The dynamic attack hovers over fields of peat that crash into a turbulent sea. This image is bathed in a radiant yet cloudy light. On the mid-palate, ash showers the palate. The taut start of the finish is earthy and chocolate. Ballechin has taken the upper hand over Caol Ila. An oily, rich, milky, floral and fruity (strawberry) peat underscores the nobility of a finish that is also deliciously peppery. At the very end of the finish, bacon adds an animal dimension to the flavour palette.