Caol Ila 10 Years Old 1989 Cask #2919 – 21 (Signatory)

A 10 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 1989 from the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, from cask 2919-21, bottled at 43%, one of 450 bottles. Caol Ila makes a clean, maritime malt on the east coast of Islay. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke.

Run through tall copper stills that keep the smoke light, giving a bright, citrus driven peat. A long spell in ex-Bourbon oak rounded the spirit gently. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years.

At 43% it is smooth and clean. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is a maritime, lemony Islay single malt.