Caol Ila 16 Years Old 2008 Love & Peace (Liquid Treasures)

From the bottler Liquid Treasures, a 16 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2008, bottled at 54.8%, one of 274 bottles. Caol Ila is a maritime malt, matured within sound of the sea. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

Worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, building the elegant Islay smoke at its heart. A wine cask held it, layering berry fruit over the malt. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed and ellagitannin tannins lend a polished, drying frame to the smoke. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. Cool, damp warehousing slows the loss of the angel's share over the years.

At a hearty 54.8% it carries real weight. A smoky, briny coastal character, with brown sugar and a tropical lift from the cask. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. Lemon, soft ash and sea salt see it out. This is Caol Ila's lighter, maritime Islay smoke.