Caol Ila 13 Years Old 1980 (Connoisseurs Choice)

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail selected this Caol Ila, a 13 year old, distilled in 1980, bottled at 40%. Caol Ila is the lighter, more elegant face of Islay smoke. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays.

Here the spirit was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. An American oak hogshead added vanilla and a light toffee. 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. The oily texture comes from the spirit cut, the cask adding depth around it. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. The cool Islay air gives a slow, steady maturation by the shore. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily.

Bottled at 40%, it is rounded. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with a light bourbon sweetness. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is a maritime, lemony Islay single malt.