Caol Ila 17 Years Old 2007 Cask ##2301849 (Murray McDavid)

The independent Murray McDavid released this Caol Ila, a 17 year old, distilled in 2007, from cask #2301849, bottled at 54.6%, one of 88 bottles. Caol Ila is a workhorse of the blending halls and a favourite of malt drinkers. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

Here the spirit was worked from peated malt for the lighter Islay style, giving the lighter Islay style its shape. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. Through oxidative maturity the phenols mellow and esters concentrate, citrus turning to candied lemon over a soft peat. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. The oily texture comes from the spirit cut, the cask adding depth around it. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years.

At 54.6%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. A clean ashy smoke with lime and brine, with a dry, nutty, savoury depth from the cask. The oily body carries the smoke long and clean. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.