Caol Ila 12 Years Old 2011 Cask #307960 (The Single Cask Ltd.)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler The Single Cask Ltd, distilled in 2011, from cask 307960, bottled at 49.9%, one of 106 bottles. Caol Ila sends more spirit to independent bottlers than almost any malt. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

This was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, for a clean, coastal, oily make. A refill hogshead held it quietly, the spirit left to lead. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make.

At cask strength 49.9% it is muscular. A clean peat with sea salt and citrus, with honeyed oak underneath. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is a refined, citrus driven Islay smoke.