Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2011 Big Brother (Na Br��ithrean)

Big Brother

700ml / 58%

Single Malt

$179

This Caol Ila was bottled by the bottler Na Br��ithrean, a 9 year old, at 58%. Soft ash and smoked citrus sit on an oily body, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. An east coast Islay distillery on the narrow Sound of Islay. A workhorse of the blending halls and a favourite of malt drinkers. This is a refined Islay single malt that wears its style lightly.

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SKU CIL737 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

The bottler Na Br��ithrean selected this Caol Ila, a 9 year old, distilled in 2011, bottled at 58%, one of 170 bottles. Caol Ila is Diageo's largest Islay distillery. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland.

This was run through tall copper stills that keep the smoke light, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the make. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted hemicellulose sugars (a light caramel) fast, the phenols still sharp and medicinal. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift. The distillery was expanded again in the 21st century to meet blend demand. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols.

At 58% without water it is rich and full. Smoke, grapefruit and a maritime salt, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is clean and coastal, the peat and lemon to the fore. Lemon, soft ash and sea salt see it out. This is a clean Islay smoke from the island's largest distillery.