Caol Ila 17 Years Old 1990 Cask #13143 (Silver Seal)

The bottler Silver Seal selected this Caol Ila, a 17 year old, distilled in 1990, from cask 13143, bottled at 46%, one of 381 bottles. Caol Ila takes its name from the Gaelic for the Sound of Islay. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

It was run through tall copper stills that keep the smoke light, building the elegant Islay smoke at its heart. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light vanilla. In the oxidative middle years the spirit deepens, oxidation drawing out waxy fruit as the guaiacol smoke fades to embers. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy.

At an approachable 46% it is balanced. Smoke, grapefruit and a maritime salt, with a light vanilla and a touch of coconut. It is clean and coastal, the peat and lemon to the fore. Lemon, soft ash and sea salt see it out. This is the elegant, lighter side of Islay.