Caol Ila 13 Years Old 2009 Cask #314246 (Adelphi)

A 13 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 2009 from the Adelphi bottler, from cask 314246, bottled at 57.1%, one of 298 bottles. Caol Ila was rebuilt in the 1970s into the large distillery it is today. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

It was drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. 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. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make. Most of its peated malt is destined for the Johnnie Walker blends.

Undiluted at 57.1%, it is powerful. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with vanilla and a honeyed edge from the cask. Smoked lemon and sea salt build over an oily body. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.