Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2010 Cask #105 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Caol Ila, an 11 year old, distilled in 2010, from cask 105, bottled at 56.8%, one of 702 bottles. Caol Ila is the smoky backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

Here the spirit was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the make. Through integration the spirit and cask settle, lactone coconut and a soft vanillin balancing the easing phenols. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Port Askaig is a tiny settlement on the rugged east coast of Islay. The distillery was expanded again in the 21st century to meet blend demand. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland.

Undiluted at 56.8%, it is powerful. A clean ashy smoke with lime and brine, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. Smoke and sea salt see out a long finish. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.