Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2006 Cask #303194 (Meadowside Blending)

A 14 year old Caol Ila from the bottler Meadowside Blending, from cask 303194, bottled at 51.9%, one of 312 bottles. Caol Ila is Diageo's largest Islay distillery. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

Drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. A long spell in ex-Bourbon oak rounded the spirit gently. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke.

Bottled at a cask strength 51.9%, it is intense. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. The finish is clean, smoky and maritime. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.