Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2005 Cask #Batch 19/013 (Connoisseurs Choice)

A 14 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 2005 from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, from cask Batch 19/013, bottled at 45%, one of 3708 bottles. Caol Ila is an east coast Islay distillery on the strait facing Jura. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for a clean, coastal, oily make. An American oak cask shaped it, soft and sweet beneath the peat. Through the integration phase spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into a rounded vanilla as the guaiacol phenols mellow into a softer smoke. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types.

At 45% it is smooth and clean. A coastal peat with citrus and pepper, with a light bourbon sweetness. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. Smoke and sea salt see out a long finish. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.