Caol Ila 10 Years Old 2007 Cask #312 (Meadowside Blending)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler Meadowside Blending, distilled in 2007, from cask 312, bottled at 54.7%, one of 267 bottles. Caol Ila is Diageo's largest Islay distillery. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

Made from medium peated malt for a clean, smoky spirit, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat.

At 54.7% without water it is rich and full. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is Caol Ila's lighter, maritime Islay smoke.