Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2010 Cask #319103 (Global Whisky Limited)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler Global Whisky Limited, distilled in 2010, from cask 319103, bottled at 56.9%, one of 306 bottles. Caol Ila has distilled at Port Askaig since the middle of the 19th century. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura.

Worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the make. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Refill oak lets the maritime peat and lemon of the spirit lead the way. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke. Years in oak round the smoke, the peat mellowing while the brine stays.

At 56.9% without water it is rich and full. A smoky, briny coastal character, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.