Caol Ila 11 Years Old 2012 Cask #SC57 (Spencer Collings & Co.)

From the bottler Spencer Collings & Co, an 11 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2012, from cask SC57, bottled at 57.3%. Caol Ila sits on the shore at Port Askaig, on the narrow Sound of Islay. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations.

It was distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, shaping the lighter side of Islay. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays.

Undiluted at 57.3%, it is powerful. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with raisin and brown sugar from the cask. It is clean and coastal, the peat and lemon to the fore. Smoke and sea salt see out a long finish. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.