Caol Ila 30 Years Old 1984 Cask #6261 (van Wees)

A Caol Ila of a 30 year old chosen by the Dutch bottler van Wees, distilled in 1984, from cask 6261, bottled at 52.8%, one of 228 bottles. Caol Ila is an Islay malt of clean, oily, citrus driven smoke. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

Run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, for an oily smoke that leans to lemon and brine. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the spirit. In its ethereal years the malt is waxy and oxidative, faded esters and a touch of sotolon (maple, spice) over the merest whisper of peat. Cool, damp warehousing slows the loss of the angel's share over the years. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

Bottled at a cask strength 52.8%, it is intense. Smoke, grapefruit and a maritime salt, with a creamy oak note. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. It finishes smoky, oily and bright. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.