Caol Ila 12 Years Old 2007 Cask #19097 (Alambic Classique)

The bottler Alambic Classique bottled this Caol Ila, a 12 year old, distilled in 2007, from cask 19097, bottled at 53.8%, one of 110 bottles. Caol Ila is among the most widely traded of Islay's single malts. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness.

The spirit was run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the gentle American oak letting the make lead. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. Olive oil and lemon sit at the heart of the Caol Ila character. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

At its natural 53.8% it is concentrated. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. Soft smoke and citrus sit behind the cask. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is Caol Ila's lighter, maritime Islay smoke.