Caol Ila 13 Years Old 2007 Cask #320254 (Elixir)

Sukhinder Singh's Elixir Distillers selected this Caol Ila, a 13 year old, distilled in 2007, from cask 320254, bottled at 55.6%, one of 274 bottles. Caol Ila is a maritime malt, matured within sound of the sea. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla and a light sweetness under the smoke. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke. Refill oak lets the maritime peat and lemon of the spirit lead the way.

At a natural 55.6% it is full and oily. Smoked lemon, brine and a green olive note, with vanilla and a honeyed edge from the cask. An oily smoke coats the palate, citrus and brine behind. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.