Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2009 Cask #307089 (Connoisseurs Choice)

A 14 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 2009 from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, from cask 307089, bottled at 57.8%, one of 236 bottles. Caol Ila is prized for a smoke that leans to lemon and olive oil rather than tar. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations.

Worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, shaping the lighter side of Islay. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. Through integration the spirit and cask settle, lactone coconut and a soft vanillin balancing the easing phenols. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years.

At cask strength 57.8% it is muscular. Wood smoke, lemon zest and brine, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a clean Islay smoke from the island's largest distillery.