Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2006 Spirits Shop’ Selection (Sansibar)

The bottler Sansibar bottled this Caol Ila, a 9 year old, distilled in 2006, bottled at 51.3%, one of 340 bottles. Caol Ila is a workhorse of the blending halls and a favourite of malt drinkers. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

The spirit was run from peated malt through tall stills on Loch nam Ban water, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Refill American oak let the spirit speak, adding a quiet honeyed note. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted hemicellulose sugars (a light caramel) fast, the phenols still sharp and medicinal. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays. A gentle vanillin sweetness from the oak balances the coastal phenols.

At a natural 51.3% it is full and oily. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with vanilla and a honeyed edge from the cask. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. The finish runs oily, smoky and clean. This is the elegant, lighter side of Islay.