I'm picky about Islays. For example, I found the experience of Laphroaig Quarter Cask to be a lot like vomiting up several 9volt batteries. Anyway. A notable ingredient of Johnnie Walker, Caol Ila doesn't get enough love in my opinion. Full disclosure: I have only sipped a glass of the 12, on a couple of occasions. In my original "notes" I gave it a B grade, but I felt it needed a proper review. So, I recently revisited it as part of a whisky flight. The bottle is brown. Gotta love brown-bottle Islays! 43%, $55.

Nose: peat and potting soil.

Taste: smooth, sweet-peat and umami notes -- grass, okra, seaweed, bell peppers, and I want to say asparagus. Finishes with smoke, peat again, and a little brine.

Quite good but a tad too expensive for me, I'd buy CI12 all the time if I was, say, Tagg Romney. 88/100