Caol Ila 12 Years Old 2010 Cask #302273 (Elixir)

A Caol Ila of a 12 year old chosen by Sukhinder Singh's Elixir Distillers, distilled in 2010, from cask 302273, bottled at 54.3%, one of 323 bottles. Caol Ila looks out across the Sound to the Paps of Jura. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

This was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, giving a clean, lemony peat. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. Integration sees eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) fold into the spirit, the medicinal smoke gentler now. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift.

At 54.3%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. Smoke, grapefruit and a maritime salt, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is the smoky malt of the Sound of Islay.