Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2010 Cask #311711 (Adelphi)

A 9 year old Caol Ila from the Adelphi bottler, from cask 311711, bottled at 56%, one of 130 bottles. Caol Ila is the most heavily bottled of all the Islay malts. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura.

It was drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, for an oily smoke that leans to lemon and brine. Ex-Bourbon casks held it, the gentle American oak letting the make lead. In its extractive youth the spirit takes vanillin vanilla and lactone coconut quickly, the peat phenols vivid and lemony. The spirit's lightness lets sherry, wine and bourbon casks all show through. The warehouses are ranged along the rocky shore at the water's edge. A ferry crosses the Sound from Port Askaig to Jura and the mainland. The distillery was expanded again in the 21st century to meet blend demand. Long ageing turns the young, sharp peat into a soft, coastal smoke.

At a natural 56% it is full and oily. Sea spray, smoke and a citrus lift, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. The palate is oily and smoky, with a green citrus lift. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.