Caol Ila 12 Years Old 2008 Cask #312059 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Connoisseurs Choice – Cask Strength

700ml / 57%

Single Malt

$172

This Caol Ila, the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, at 57%. Clean and coastal, the smoke leans to lemon and olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Islay’s quiet giant, vast yet refined. It is the most independently bottled of all the Islay malts. This is a clean island malt from the strait facing Jura.

Only 2 left in stock

Only 2 left

SKU CIL540 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail selected this Caol Ila, a 12 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 312059, bottled at 57%, one of 314 bottles. Caol Ila is an Islay malt of clean, oily, citrus driven smoke. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

The spirit was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, giving a clean, lemony peat. 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 slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily. Refill oak lets the maritime peat and lemon of the spirit lead the way. Port Askaig is a tiny settlement on the rugged east coast of Islay. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass.

At a hearty 57% it carries real weight. Peat smoke, citrus and a soft oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Beneath the smoke run lemon, brine and a peppery oil. Ash, lemon and brine draw out the close. This is the elegant, lighter side of Islay.