Caol Ila 7 Years Old 2013 Cask Series 015 (North Star)

A Caol Ila drawn by the bottler North Star Spirits, distilled in 2013, bottled at 60.9%, one of 588 bottles. Caol Ila is the lighter, more elegant face of Islay smoke. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness.

Drawn off a high cut from peated barley, for a clean, coastal, oily make. Ex-Sherry wood added a dried fruit richness beneath the smoke. 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. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make.

At a hearty 60.9% it carries real weight. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. It finishes smoky, oily and bright. This is a maritime, lemony Islay single malt.