Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2008 (The Whisky Cask)

The bottler The Whisky Cask bottled this Caol Ila, a 14 year old, distilled in 2008, bottled at 52.5%. Caol Ila makes a clean, maritime malt on the east coast of Islay. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays.

Here the spirit was run through tall copper stills that keep the smoke light, giving a clean, lemony peat. A wine cask shaped it, the fruit meeting the spirit. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. The cool Islay air gives a slow, steady maturation by the shore. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke. The make balances phenolic smoke against a bright, oily citrus. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

Undiluted at 52.5%, it is powerful. A bonfire smoke with lemon and sea salt, with red berry and a dry spice from the cask. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. The finish runs oily, smoky and clean. This is a refined, citrus driven Islay smoke.