Caol Ila 31 Years Old 1982 Cask #4722 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

From the bottler The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd, a 31 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 1982, from cask 4722, bottled at 46%, one of 300 bottles. Caol Ila is the most heavily bottled of all the Islay malts. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura.

The spirit was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, building a refined, maritime peat. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the gentle American oak letting the make lead. At this great, fragile age oxidation has the last word, ethereal esters, beeswax and old polished tannins where the smoke once was. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. Years in oak round the smoke, the peat mellowing while the brine stays. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow. Smoke, grapefruit and a maritime salt, with a creamy oak note. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is Caol Ila's lighter, maritime Islay smoke.