Caol Ila Cl5 SMS Elements of Islay (Speciality Drinks Ltd)

Elements of Islay

500ml / 58.3%

Single Malt

$117

The bottler Speciality Drinks Ltd released this Caol Ila, a 13 year old, 1999, at 58.3%. Smoke, sea spray and an oily lemon fill the glass. Islay’s quiet giant, vast yet refined. Most of its make goes into the Johnnie Walker blends. Among the most widely traded of Islay’s single malts. This is the smoky workhorse of Johnnie Walker in single malt form.

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SKU CIL949 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila of a 13 year old chosen by the bottler Speciality Drinks Ltd, distilled in 1999, bottled at 58.3%. Caol Ila is the largest distillery on the Isle of Islay. The distillery was expanded again in the 21st century to meet blend demand.

The spirit was run through tall copper stills that keep the smoke light, giving the lighter Islay style its shape. A tired refill cask added little but time, the make speaking clearly. Integration sees eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) fold into the spirit, the medicinal smoke gentler now. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

At a natural 58.3% it is full and oily. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with a gentle oak sweetness beneath. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is an Islay malt that wears its smoke lightly.