Caol Ila 6 Years Old 2012 Cask #1856-300375B (Claxton’s)

The bottler Claxton's selected this Caol Ila, a 6 year old, distilled in 2012, from cask 1856-300375B, bottled at 57.3%, one of 68 bottles. Caol Ila was rebuilt in the 1970s into the large distillery it is today. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland.

The spirit was made from medium phenol malt on soft Loch nam Ban water, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and oak lactones a coconut sweetness, the guaiacol smoke bright and fresh. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays.

At a natural 57.3% it is full and oily. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with raisin, date and treacle from the cask. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. The finish is clean, smoky and maritime. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.