Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2008 Cask #14 (Spirits Salon)

An 11 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 2008 from the bottler Spirits Salon, from cask 14, bottled at 56.5%, one of 348 bottles. Caol Ila sends more spirit to independent bottlers than almost any malt. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

The spirit was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, giving a clean, lemony peat. An American oak cask shaped it, soft and sweet beneath the peat. Integration sees eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) fold into the spirit, the medicinal smoke gentler now. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

Undiluted at 56.5%, it is powerful. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with honeyed oak underneath. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is the elegant, lighter side of Islay.