Caol Ila 6 Years Old 2011 Cask #Batch 001 (Valinch & Mallet)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the bottler Valinch & Mallet, a 6 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask Batch 001, bottled at 47.2%, one of 180 bottles. Caol Ila has distilled at Port Askaig since the middle of the 19th century. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke.

Distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. A fresh bourbon barrel lent vanilla, coconut and a fuller body. Early, extractive maturation draws vanillin (vanilla) and furfural (toasted almond) from the wood over a clean, phenolic smoke. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation.

At a hearty 47.2% it carries real weight. Smoked lemon, brine and a green olive note, with vanilla and a honeyed edge from the cask. Smoked lemon and sea salt build over an oily body. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.