Caol Ila 6 Years Old DMor (Dr��m M��r)

From the bottler Dr��m M��r, a 6 year old Caol Ila, from cask 315817, bottled at 59%, one of 312 bottles. Caol Ila has been bottled at every age from young and fierce to old and waxy. Its peated character is built on malt smoked to a medium level of phenols.

It was made from medium phenol malt on soft Loch nam Ban water, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. A second fill bourbon cask kept the oak in the background. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted hemicellulose sugars (a light caramel) fast, the phenols still sharp and medicinal. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character.

At a full 59% it is bold and oily. Smoked lemon, brine and a green olive note, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. An oily smoke coats the palate, citrus and brine behind. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is the smoky malt of the Sound of Islay.