Caol Ila 10 Years Old 2009 (SMWS 53.315)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a 10 year old, distilled in 2009, from cask 53.315, bottled at 57.8%, one of 292 bottles. Caol Ila sends more spirit to independent bottlers than almost any malt. It was founded by Hector Henderson and later passed to the Distillers Company.

Here the spirit was worked from peated malt for the lighter Islay style, giving a bright, citrus driven peat. A fresh bourbon barrel lent vanilla, coconut and a fuller body. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make. The oily texture comes from the spirit cut, the cask adding depth around it. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.8%, it is intense. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with a creamy oak note. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.