Caol Ila 25 Years Old 1997 Cask #12498 (Connoisseurs Choice)

A 25 year old Caol Ila from the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, from cask 12498, bottled at 60.5%, one of 521 bottles. Caol Ila sits on the shore at Port Askaig, on the narrow Sound of Islay. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

It was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. In the oxidative and evaporative years the angel's share concentrates the spirit, tropical esters of mango and pineapple emerging as the smoke fades to a soft ash. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. Phenols from the peat smoke carry the medicinal, lemony edge through the years. Its spirit also feeds blends such as Bell's and Black Bottle. Its peated character is built on malt smoked to a medium level of phenols.

At a hearty 60.5% it carries real weight. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.