Recently Released: Calila 1976 38 Year Old Malts of Scotland Angel's Choice #Mos14020

A long-aged Calila, expensive but quite delicious. Calila CAOL ILA 1976-2014 38yo Malts of Scotland Angel's choice #Mos14020 47.2% 35cl, one of 125 bottles, Bourbon Hogshead The aroma is strong with lemongrass, vanilla, dried barley, a hint of honey, light saltiness, cheese, seaweed, and mild peat. When drunk, it condenses slightly with some bite, featuring lemongrass, vanilla, camomile tea, a subtle umami from barley, faint metallic notes, and a cool, sharp finish with a strong peaty aftertaste. [Good/Very Good] From the Angel's Choice series of Malts of Scotland, this is a half-bottle Calila 1976 aged for 38 years. It's a rare long-aged Calila, and although it's a half-bottle, it's quite expensive. The aroma strongly features lemongrass, typical of Islay with seaweed and peat, along with light saltiness and metallic notes, making it quite complex. Despite the long aging, the barley character remains. When tasted, it's not overly concentrated but has a condensed texture with some bite. There's a gentle umami from barley, and similar to the aroma, light saltiness and metallic notes create a cool, sharp atmosphere. While Calila from the 70s was often available at a purchaseable price, recently it's become rare and when it does appear, it's very expensive. Although aged for 38 years, as expected from Calila, there's little development of aging character. Without the typical 'mellowing' from aging, the strong barley umami remains intact. Despite Calila's usual image of not standing out, this one doesn't feel particularly outstanding either. However, it remains a strong Islay malt that hasn't lost its edge despite the long aging, which I found impressive.