Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2008 Cask #4016823 (Duncan Taylor)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the bottler Duncan Taylor, a 9 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 4016823, bottled at 53%, one of 70 bottles. Caol Ila sends more spirit to independent bottlers than almost any malt. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

This was distilled from medium peated malt in tall copper stills, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. A sherry cask wrapped the spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. In its extractive youth the spirit takes vanillin vanilla and lactone coconut quickly, the peat phenols vivid and lemony. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style.

At 53%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. A smoky, briny coastal character, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is the elegant, lighter side of Islay.