Caol Ila 15 Years Old 2006 Cask #09104 (Finn Thomson)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the bottler Finn Thomson, a 15 year old, distilled in 2006, from cask 09104, bottled at 51.3%, one of 211 bottles. Caol Ila is an east coast Islay distillery on the strait facing Jura. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

The spirit was worked from peated malt for the lighter Islay style, for a clean, coastal, oily make. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. Oxidative maturity brings a waxy, fruity depth, ethyl esters of orchard fruit building as the peat turns gentle and coastal. The make balances phenolic smoke against a bright, oily citrus. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness.

At its natural 51.3% it is concentrated. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. It finishes smoky, oily and bright. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.