Caol Ila 15 Years Old 2010 Cask #307617 (G&M)

A 15 year old Caol Ila from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, from cask 307617, bottled at 53.7%, one of 266 bottles. Caol Ila is a maritime malt, matured within sound of the sea. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

Here the spirit was run through tall copper stills that keep the smoke light, for a clean, coastal, oily make. An Oloroso hogshead lent raisin, fig and a savoury edge. At oxidative maturity aldehydes and esters lend dried fruit while ellagitannins add a drying, structured grip, the smoke now mellow. The spirit's lightness lets sherry, wine and bourbon casks all show through. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types.

At its natural 53.7% it is concentrated. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. An oily smoke coats the palate, citrus and brine behind. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.