Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2008 The Young Rebels No. 6 (Hidden Spirits)

A 9 year old Caol Ila from the bottler Hidden Spirits, bottled at 52%. Caol Ila is the most heavily bottled of all the Islay malts. Its spirit also feeds blends such as Bell's and Black Bottle.

It was worked from peated malt for the lighter Islay style, giving the lighter Islay style its shape. A second fill bourbon cask kept the oak in the background. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted hemicellulose sugars (a light caramel) fast, the phenols still sharp and medicinal. Cool, damp warehousing slows the loss of the angel's share over the years. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make. Much of the spirit leaves the island by sea to mature on the mainland. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland.

At cask strength 52% it is muscular. A coastal peat with citrus and pepper, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. Soft smoke and citrus sit behind the cask. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.