Caol Ila 15 Years Old 2010 Cask #17752 (C. Dully Selection)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the bottler C. Dully Selection, a 15 year old, distilled in 2010, from cask 17752, bottled at 56%, one of 266 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.

This was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. A long spell in ex-Bourbon oak rounded the spirit gently. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed and ellagitannin tannins lend a polished, drying frame to the smoke. Refill oak lets the maritime peat and lemon of the spirit lead the way. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. The oily texture comes from the spirit cut, the cask adding depth around it. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

At cask strength 56% it is muscular. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with a light vanilla and a touch of coconut. Smoked lemon and sea salt build over an oily body. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.