Caol Ila 6 Years Old 2018 Cask #302495A (Murray McDavid)

The independent Murray McDavid bottled this Caol Ila, a 6 year old, distilled in 2018, from cask 302495A, bottled at 56.8%, one of 303 bottles. Caol Ila is an east coast Islay distillery on the strait facing Jura. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

Made from medium peated malt for a clean, smoky spirit, building a refined, maritime peat. A sherry cask wrapped the spirit in dried fruit and a nutty depth. In these extractive early years the oak surrenders vanillin as vanilla and cis oak lactones as coconut, while guaiacol carries a vivid, lemony peat smoke. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland.

At a hearty 56.8% it carries real weight. A clean peat with sea salt and citrus, with raisin and a caramelised nuttiness from the cask. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.