Caol Ila 12 Years Old 2010 Cask #311763 (BB&R)

Single Cask

700ml / 56.4%

Single Malt

$156

Caol Ila of a 12 year old from the London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, 2010, at 56.4%. Clean peat smoke meets lemon zest and a coastal salt. The spirit is matured largely on the mainland. The distillery sits below a steep brae on the shore. It is the most independently bottled of all the Islay malts. This is an Islay malt of clean smoke and bright citrus.

In stock

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SKU CIL133 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

A Caol Ila of a 12 year old chosen by the London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd, distilled in 2010, from cask 311763, bottled at 56.4%, one of 273 bottles. Caol Ila is the quiet giant of Islay, vast yet refined. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness.

Here the spirit was run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, for the clean island smoke prized by blenders. A tired refill cask added little but time, the make speaking clearly. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. Its peated character is built on malt smoked to a medium level of phenols. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily.

At 56.4% without water it is rich and full. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a gentle oak sweetness beneath. The oily body carries the smoke long and clean. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.