Caol Ila 13 Years Old 2008 Cask #300055 (Signatory)

700ml / 53.9%

Single Malt

$242

A Caol Ila of a 13 year old chosen by the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, at 53.9%. An elegant smoke carries grapefruit, salt and a green olive note. It stands at Port Askaig, facing Jura across the Sound. Its casks mature within sound of the sea. The distillery sits below a steep brae on the shore. This is a bright, coastal Islay malt of poise.

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SKU CIL844 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage released this Caol Ila, a 13 year old, distilled in 2008, from cask 300055, bottled at 53.9%, one of 263 bottles. Caol Ila takes its name from the Gaelic for the Sound of Islay. The distillery was expanded again in the 21st century to meet blend demand.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. 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. The make balances phenolic smoke against a bright, oily citrus. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke.

At a hearty 53.9% it carries real weight. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a creamy oak note. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. Lemon, soft ash and sea salt see it out. This is the smoky malt of the Sound of Islay.