Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2010 Cask #316648 (Signatory)

A Caol Ila of a 9 year old chosen by the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, distilled in 2010, from cask 316648, bottled at 60.1%, one of 657 bottles. Caol Ila is the smoky backbone of the Johnnie Walker blends. The original Victorian distillery was almost entirely rebuilt in the modern era.

It was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, for an oily smoke that leans to lemon and brine. An Oloroso hogshead lent raisin, fig and a savoury edge. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and oak lactones a coconut sweetness, the guaiacol smoke bright and fresh. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. The cool Islay air gives a slow, steady maturation by the shore. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura.

At a full 60.1% it is bold and oily. A clean peat with sea salt and citrus, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. A smoky, oily warmth lingers with lemon and salt. This is Caol Ila's lighter, maritime Islay smoke.