Caol Ila 7 Years Old 2016 Cask #26580 (Adelphi)

The Adelphi bottler released this Caol Ila, a 7 year old, distilled in 2016, from cask 26580, bottled at 58.5%, one of 256 bottles. Caol Ila sends more spirit to independent bottlers than almost any malt. Its peated character is built on malt smoked to a medium level of phenols.

Worked from peated barley through the distillery's tall stills, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the spirit. In its extractive youth the spirit takes vanillin vanilla and lactone coconut quickly, the peat phenols vivid and lemony. The oily texture comes from the spirit cut, the cask adding depth around it. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila.

Bottled at a cask strength 58.5%, it is intense. A clean peat with sea salt and citrus, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. The finish runs oily, smoky and clean. This is an elegant Islay single malt.