Caol Ila 13 Years Old 2004 Cask #Batch 18/002 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 13 year old, distilled in 2004, from cask Batch 18/002, bottled at 45%, one of 3950 bottles. Caol Ila is the smoky backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

Here the spirit was made from medium phenol malt on soft Loch nam Ban water, for the light, maritime smoke Caol Ila is known for. Refill American oak let the spirit speak, adding a quiet honeyed note. Integration sees eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) fold into the spirit, the medicinal smoke gentler now. Years in oak round the smoke, the peat mellowing while the brine stays. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass.

At 45% it is clean and coastal. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with a gentle oak sweetness beneath. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is an elegant Islay single malt.