Caol Ila 10 Years Old 1989 (Authentic Collection)

From Scotland's oldest independent bottler Cadenhead's, a 10 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 1989, bottled at 57.8%, one of 228 bottles. Caol Ila sits on the shore at Port Askaig, on the narrow Sound of Islay. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

Here the spirit was distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, building the elegant Islay smoke at its heart. A second fill bourbon cask kept the oak in the background. Through integration the spirit and cask settle, lactone coconut and a soft vanillin balancing the easing phenols. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. Olive oil and lemon sit at the heart of the Caol Ila character. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

At 57.8%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. Smoked lemon, brine and a green olive note, with a creamy oak note. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.