Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2011 Cask #312230 (BB&R)

Single Cask

700ml / 53.5%

Single Malt

$156

The London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd picked this Caol Ila, an 11 year old, at 53.5%. A fresh peat smoke over lemon and a saline oil. Water comes from Loch nam Ban, above the distillery. A workhorse of the blending halls and a favourite of malt drinkers. It is Diageo’s largest Islay distillery by some way. This is a coastal Islay malt of real finesse.

In stock

Available

SKU CIL144 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila drawn by the London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, distilled in 2011, from cask 312230, bottled at 53.5%, one of 290 bottles. Caol Ila looks out across the Sound to the Paps of Jura. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations.

It was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for an oily smoke that leans to lemon and brine. A second fill bourbon cask kept the oak in the background. Through integration the spirit and cask settle, lactone coconut and a soft vanillin balancing the easing phenols. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. Olive oil and lemon sit at the heart of the Caol Ila character.

Undiluted at 53.5%, it is powerful. A clean ashy smoke with lime and brine, with vanilla and a soft caramel from the wood. An oily smoke coats the palate, citrus and brine behind. It finishes smoky, oily and bright. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.