Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2007 Cask #9 (part) (Signatory)

An 11 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 2007 from the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, from cask 9 (part), bottled at 46%, one of 456 bottles. Caol Ila has been bottled at every age from young and fierce to old and waxy. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke.

Here the spirit was made from medium phenol malt on soft Loch nam Ban water, giving a clean, lemony peat. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. Integration sees eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) fold into the spirit, the medicinal smoke gentler now. The spirit's lightness lets sherry, wine and bourbon casks all show through. The make balances phenolic smoke against a bright, oily citrus. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily.

At an approachable 46% it is balanced. A bonfire smoke with lemon and sea salt, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Smoked lemon and sea salt build over an oily body. Lemon, soft ash and sea salt see it out. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.