Caol Ila 24 Years Old 1975 Cask #464 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Caol Ila, a 24 year old, distilled in 1975, from cask 464, bottled at 58.3%, one of 275 bottles. Caol Ila takes its name from the Gaelic for the Sound of Islay. It was founded by Hector Henderson and later passed to the Distillers Company.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for a clean, coastal, oily make. Refill American oak let the spirit speak, adding a quiet honeyed note. In these late, evaporative years the spirit concentrates to a waxy, tropical depth, the ellagitannin grip holding the fading peat in frame. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy. The spirit's lightness lets sherry, wine and bourbon casks all show through. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. Port Askaig is a tiny settlement on the rugged east coast of Islay.

At its natural 58.3% it is concentrated. Smoked lemon, brine and a green olive note, with honeyed oak underneath. Beneath the smoke run lemon, brine and a peppery oil. Ash, lemon and brine draw out the close. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.