Caol Ila 15 Years Old 2003 Cask #Batch 18/101 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Connoisseurs Choice – Cask Strength

700ml / 56.5%

Single Malt

$248

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail bottled this Caol Ila, a 15 year old, at 56.5%. Clean peat smoke meets lemon zest and a coastal salt. One of the largest malt distilleries in all of Scotland. A workhorse of the blending halls and a favourite of malt drinkers. This is the lighter, citrus driven face of Islay.

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SKU CIL518 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila drawn by the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, distilled in 2003, from cask Batch 18/101, bottled at 56.5%, one of 206 bottles. Caol Ila takes its name from the Gaelic for the Sound of Islay. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke.

Distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, giving a bright, citrus driven peat. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the spirit. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed and ellagitannin tannins lend a polished, drying frame to the smoke. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily.

Bottled at a cask strength 56.5%, it is intense. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with a creamy oak note. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. A long maritime smoke closes it. This is a refined, citrus driven Islay smoke.