Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2010 (BB&R)

Small Batch

700ml / 46%

Single Malt

$125

This Caol Ila was bottled by the London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, an 11 year old, at 46%. Smoked lemon, sea spray and a soft oil run through it. It is Diageo’s largest Islay distillery by some way. The spirit is matured largely on the mainland. The distillery looks out to the Paps of Jura. This is an Islay malt of clean smoke and bright citrus.

In stock

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SKU CIL138 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila of an 11 year old chosen by the London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, distilled in 2010, bottled at 46%, one of 953 bottles. Caol Ila has been bottled at every age from young and fierce to old and waxy. Malt comes from the Port Ellen maltings on the south of the island.

The spirit was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, giving a bright, citrus driven peat. A tired refill cask added little but time, the make speaking clearly. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily. The cool Islay air gives a slow, steady maturation by the shore. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass.

At 46% it is smooth and clean. Peat, smoked fish and a citrus oil, with honeyed oak underneath. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.