Caol Ila 8 Years Old 2011 The Single Malts of Scotland (Elixir)

From Sukhinder Singh's Elixir Distillers, an 8 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2011, bottled at 61.6%, one of 602 bottles. Caol Ila is Diageo's largest Islay distillery. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

Here the spirit was distilled from medium peated malt in tall copper stills, for the clean island smoke prized by blenders. Maturation in an Oloroso cask laid dried fruit over the make. In its extractive youth the spirit takes vanillin vanilla and lactone coconut quickly, the peat phenols vivid and lemony. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. Sea air works into the maturing casks, lending a briny, coastal lift.

At 61.6%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. Smoke, lemon and a saline minerality fill the middle. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is an Islay malt that wears its smoke lightly.