Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2008 Cask #310761 (Rest & be Thankful Whisky Company)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler Rest & be Thankful Whisky Company, distilled in 2008, from cask 310761, bottled at 56.7%, one of 233 bottles. Caol Ila is the lighter, more elegant face of Islay smoke. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays.

The spirit was run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. First fill bourbon gave it a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut. By the integrating teens harsher congeners fade and ethyl esters build, lending a riper citrus over the softening peat. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift. The spirit's lightness lets sherry, wine and bourbon casks all show through. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright.

At a hearty 56.7% it carries real weight. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.