Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2010 Cask #361934 (James Eadie)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler James Eadie, distilled in 2010, from cask 361934, bottled at 57.7%, one of 599 bottles. Caol Ila is the lighter, more elegant face of Islay smoke. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

The spirit was drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. An Oloroso hogshead lent raisin, fig and a savoury edge. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. It was founded by Hector Henderson and later passed to the Distillers Company. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass.

Bottled at a cask strength 57.7%, it is intense. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with a dry, nutty edge from the cask. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is a maritime, lemony Islay single malt.