Caol Ila 8 Years Old 2014 Cask #313250-313256 (Wilson & Morgan)

The Italian bottler Wilson and Morgan bottled this Caol Ila, an 8 year old, distilled in 2014, from cask 313250-313256, bottled at 57.1%, one of 2125 bottles. Caol Ila is the lighter, more elegant face of Islay smoke. Its spirit also feeds blends such as Bell's and Black Bottle.

It was drawn off a high cut from peated barley, for an oily smoke that leans to lemon and brine. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood adding only a light vanilla. These first years are extractive, the oak giving lactones as coconut and vanillin as vanilla beneath a sharp, citrussy smoke. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. It was founded by Hector Henderson and later passed to the Distillers Company. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

At 57.1%, undiluted, it is bold and clean. A clean peat with sea salt and citrus, with vanilla and a soft caramel from the wood. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. The finish is long, smoky and citrussy. This is an elegant Islay single malt.