Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2008 Cask #304738 (Duckhammer’s Rare & Fine Spirits)

A 14 year old Caol Ila from the bottler Duckhammer's Rare & Fine Spirits, from cask 304738, bottled at 52.4%, one of 198 bottles. Caol Ila is one of the largest malt distilleries in all of Scotland. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

This was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, giving the lighter Islay style its shape. First fill bourbon gave it a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke. The cool Islay air gives a slow, steady maturation by the shore. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

At 52.4% without water it is rich and full. A clean peat with sea salt and citrus, with a gentle oak sweetness beneath. It is clean and coastal, the peat and lemon to the fore. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is Caol Ila's lighter, maritime Islay smoke.