Caol Ila 34 Years Old 1984 Cask #6102 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the Elgin house Gordon and MacPhail, a 34 year old, distilled in 1984, from cask 6102, bottled at 52.5%, one of 192 bottles. Caol Ila makes a clean, maritime malt on the east coast of Islay. Its spirit also feeds blends such as Bell's and Black Bottle.

Here the spirit was worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, for the light, maritime smoke Caol Ila is known for. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. At this great, fragile age oxidation has the last word, ethereal esters, beeswax and old polished tannins where the smoke once was. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke. Malt comes from the Port Ellen maltings on the south of the island. Port Askaig is a tiny settlement on the rugged east coast of Islay.

At a hearty 52.5% it carries real weight. A coastal peat with citrus and pepper, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is a clean Islay smoke from the island's largest distillery.