Caol Ila 10 Years Old 1989 Cask #2244 + 45 (Signatory)

A 10 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 1989 from the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, from cask 2244 + 45, bottled at 43%, one of 295 bottles. Caol Ila is the most heavily bottled of all the Islay malts. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

This was distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, for a clean, coastal, oily make. Years in ex-Bourbon wood lent a soft vanilla and a coastal calm. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine.

At an easy 43% it is gentle. Smoke, lemon and a peppery oil, with a light bourbon sweetness. The oily body carries the smoke long and clean. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a refined, citrus driven Islay smoke.