Caol Ila 8 Years Old 1989 Cask #4601 (van Wees)

An 8 year old Caol Ila from the Dutch bottler van Wees, from cask 4601, bottled at 43%. Caol Ila makes a clean, maritime malt on the east coast of Islay. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke.

Made from medium phenol malt on soft Loch nam Ban water, building a refined, maritime peat. Refill American oak let the spirit speak, adding a quiet honeyed note. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and oak lactones a coconut sweetness, the guaiacol smoke bright and fresh. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. Port Askaig is a tiny settlement on the rugged east coast of Islay. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass.

At 43% it is supple and oily. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with vanilla and a soft caramel from the wood. Smoked lemon and sea salt build over an oily body. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.