Caol Ila 7 Years Old 2016 Cask #2 (Gillespie & Partners)

A 7 year old Caol Ila from the bottler Gillespie & Partners, from cask 2, bottled at 53.7%, one of 180 bottles. Caol Ila stands below a steep brae on Islay's rugged east shore. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, building a refined, maritime peat. A second fill bourbon cask kept the oak in the background. These first years are extractive, the oak giving lactones as coconut and vanillin as vanilla beneath a sharp, citrussy smoke. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations.

At a natural 53.7% it is full and oily. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with a gentle oak sweetness beneath. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.