Caol Ila 13 Years Old 1989 Cask #5222 + 5223 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage selected this Caol Ila, a 13 year old, distilled in 1989, from cask 5222 + 5223, bottled at 43%. Caol Ila is the smoky backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends. Port Askaig is a tiny settlement on the rugged east coast of Islay.

It was drawn off a high cut from peated barley, for an oily smoke that leans to lemon and brine. Refill American oak let the spirit speak, adding a quiet honeyed note. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. Years in oak round the smoke, the peat mellowing while the brine stays. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

At an approachable 43% it is balanced. A bonfire smoke with lemon and sea salt, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. The oily body carries the smoke long and clean. The finish runs oily, smoky and clean. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.