Caol Ila 16 Years Old 1977 Cask #4659 & 4660 (Moon-Import)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler Moon-Import, distilled in 1977, from cask 4659 & 4660, bottled at 46%, one of 708 bottles. Caol Ila is the quiet giant of Islay, vast yet refined. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

Here the spirit was run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, for a clean, coastal, oily make. A tired refill cask added little but time, the make speaking clearly. Through oxidative maturity the phenols mellow and esters concentrate, citrus turning to candied lemon over a soft peat. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Years in oak round the smoke, the peat mellowing while the brine stays. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations.

At 46% it is clean and coastal. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is an elegant Islay single malt.