Caol Ila 15 Years Old 2010 Cask #318389 (BB&R)

A Caol Ila of a 15 year old chosen by the London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, distilled in 2010, from cask 318389, bottled at 55.1%, one of 168 bottles. Caol Ila is an Islay malt of clean, oily, citrus driven smoke. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

This was drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed and ellagitannin tannins lend a polished, drying frame to the smoke. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types.

At a natural 55.1% it is full and oily. A coastal peat with citrus and pepper, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. A long maritime smoke closes it. This is the elegant, lighter side of Islay.