Caol Ila 8 Years Old The Speakeasy (Douglas Laing)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, an 8 year old, bottled at 48%, one of 191 bottles. Caol Ila is an Islay malt of clean, oily, citrus driven smoke. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

This was drawn off a high cut from peated barley, giving a bright, citrus driven peat. A long spell in ex-Bourbon oak rounded the spirit gently. Early, extractive maturation draws vanillin (vanilla) and furfural (toasted almond) from the wood over a clean, phenolic smoke. A clean smoke and a coastal salt define the distillery style. Diageo's Special Releases have featured both peated and unpeated Caol Ila. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland. The peat here is medium rather than heavy, so fruit and smoke share the glass. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily.

At its natural 48% it is concentrated. A bonfire smoke with lemon and sea salt, with honeyed oak underneath. It is clean and coastal, the peat and lemon to the fore. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is an Islay malt that wears its smoke lightly.