Caol Ila 12 Years Old 2004 Cask #306615, 306620-622 (G&M)

From the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 12 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2004, from cask 306615, 306620-622, bottled at 59.3%. Caol Ila is an east coast Islay distillery on the strait facing Jura. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays.

Here the spirit was distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. The make balances phenolic smoke against a bright, oily citrus. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years.

At a full 59.3% it is bold and oily. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. The finish runs oily, smoky and clean. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.