Caol Ila 18 Years Old 1998 Cask #10740 (Samaroli)

Wild & Primitive

700ml / 53.4%

Single Malt

$817

An 18 year old Caol Ila, 1998, at 53.4% from the Italian bottler Samaroli. A coastal smoke runs to lemon, olive oil and a peppery lift. One of the largest malt distilleries in all of Scotland. It stands at Port Askaig, facing Jura across the Sound. Bottled by independents the world over, and by Diageo itself. This is a bright, coastal Islay malt of poise.

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SKU CIL764 Categories Caol Ila, Islay, Scottish Whisky, Whiskey Brand: Caol Ila

Description

An 18 year old Caol Ila, this distilled in 1998 from the Italian bottler Samaroli, from cask 10740, bottled at 53.4%, one of 320 bottles. Caol Ila sits on the shore at Port Askaig, on the narrow Sound of Islay. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

This was run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the spirit. At oxidative maturity vanillin and lactones are fully expressed and ellagitannin tannins lend a polished, drying frame to the smoke. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. The medium peating leaves a smoke that is firm but never heavy. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

Bottled at a cask strength 53.4%, it is intense. A clean ashy smoke with lime and brine, with a creamy oak note. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.