Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2010 Cask #109 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Caol Ila, an 11 year old, distilled in 2010, from cask 109, bottled at 57.3%, one of 700 bottles. Caol Ila wears its Islay smoke more lightly than its southern neighbours. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

It was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for a clean, coastal, oily make. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. Through integration the spirit and cask settle, lactone coconut and a soft vanillin balancing the easing phenols. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. Refill oak lets the maritime peat and lemon of the spirit lead the way. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily. The cool Islay air gives a slow, steady maturation by the shore.

At a full 57.3% it is bold and oily. A smoky, briny coastal character, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. It is clean and coastal, the peat and lemon to the fore. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is the smoky malt of the Sound of Islay.