Caol Ila 30 Years Old 1982 Cask #6488 (LMDW)

The bottler La Maison du Whisky released this Caol Ila, a 30 year old, distilled in 1982, from cask 6488, bottled at 54.4%, one of 228 bottles. Caol Ila is the most heavily bottled of all the Islay malts. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland.

It was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, building the elegant Islay smoke at its heart. A tired refill cask added little but time, the make speaking clearly. At an ethereal, fragile age the spirit turns delicate, sotolon lending a maple and old oak depth as beeswax and a ghost of smoke linger. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character.

Undiluted at 54.4%, it is powerful. Smoke, lemon and a peppery oil, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. Beneath the smoke run lemon, brine and a peppery oil. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.