Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2012 Cask #312960 (Signatory)

The Un-Chillfiltered Collection

700ml / 52%

Single Malt

$133

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage picked this Caol Ila, an 11 year old, at 52%. Soft ash and smoked citrus sit on an oily body. Its tall stills give a lighter, cleaner island spirit. Water comes from Loch nam Ban, above the distillery. It is the most independently bottled of all the Islay malts. This is an Islay malt that balances smoke and citrus with ease.

Only 1 left in stock

Only 1 left

SKU CIL910 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila drawn by the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 2012, from cask 312960, bottled at 52%, one of 327 bottles. Caol Ila is the quiet giant of Islay, vast yet refined. Its spirit also feeds blends such as Bell's and Black Bottle.

The spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the spirit. Through integration the spirit and cask settle, lactone coconut and a soft vanillin balancing the easing phenols. Cool, damp warehousing slows the loss of the angel's share over the years. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation.

At a natural 52% it is full and oily. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a creamy oak note. The oily body carries the smoke long and clean. The finish is clean, smoky and maritime. This is an elegant Islay single malt.