Caol Ila 29 Years Old 1984 Cask #3619 (G&M)

The Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail released this Caol Ila, a 29 year old, distilled in 1984, from cask 3619, bottled at 55.5%, one of 210 bottles. Caol Ila is prized for a smoke that leans to lemon and olive oil rather than tar. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

Here the spirit was made from medium peated malt for a clean, smoky spirit, giving the lighter Islay style its shape. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. At this oxidative, evaporative stage ellagitannins lend a polished, drying structure while slow oxidation brings waxy tropical fruit over a ghost of peat. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland.

At its natural 55.5% it is concentrated. Smoke, grapefruit and a maritime salt, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. The finish runs oily, smoky and clean. This is the smoky malt of the Sound of Islay.