Caol Ila 5 Years Old 2008 Hepburn’s Choice (Langside Distillers)

The bottler Langside Distillers released this Caol Ila, a 5 year old, distilled in 2008, bottled at 46%, one of 381 bottles. Caol Ila is the lighter, more elegant face of Islay smoke. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge.

Here the spirit was worked from peated malt for the lighter Islay style, building a refined, maritime peat. A second fill bourbon cask kept the oak in the background. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and oak lactones a coconut sweetness, the guaiacol smoke bright and fresh. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

Bottled at 46%, it is rounded. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Beneath the smoke run lemon, brine and a peppery oil. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is an elegant Islay single malt.