Caol Ila 13 Years Old DeDr Islay Sponge (Decadent Drinks)

The bottler Decadent Drinks selected this Caol Ila, a 13 year old, distilled in 2009, bottled at 53%, one of 273 bottles. Caol Ila sends more spirit to independent bottlers than almost any malt. Malt comes from the Port Ellen maltings on the south of the island.

Worked from peated malt for the lighter Islay style, giving the lighter Islay style its shape. A sherry butt held it, the wood lending raisin and walnut. In integration the oak lactones (coconut) and vanillin (vanilla) knit with the phenols, the whole growing rounder and oilier. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift.

At 53%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.