Caol Ila 14 Years Old 2010 Cask #318154 (Cask Masters)

The bottler Brave New Spirits bottled this Caol Ila, a 14 year old, distilled in 2010, from cask 318154, bottled at 56.7%, one of 300 bottles. Caol Ila is among the most widely traded of Islay's single malts. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, shaping the lighter side of Islay. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the spirit. Integration sees eugenol (clove) and vanillin (vanilla) fold into the spirit, the medicinal smoke gentler now. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years. Malt comes from the Port Ellen maltings on the south of the island. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. The make balances phenolic smoke against a bright, oily citrus.

At a hearty 56.7% it carries real weight. Peat, smoked fish and a citrus oil, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. An oily smoke coats the palate, citrus and brine behind. It finishes smoky, oily and bright. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.