Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2011 Cask #14 (Signatory)

From the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, a 9 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2011, from cask 14, bottled at 46%, one of 387 bottles. Caol Ila is an Islay malt of clean, oily, citrus driven smoke. From a small Victorian works it grew into one of Scotland's biggest malt distilleries.

Here the spirit was distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, for a smoke more elegant than heavy. Maturation in a fortified cask lent red fruit and a soft spice. Early, extractive maturation draws vanillin (vanilla) and furfural (toasted almond) from the wood over a clean, phenolic smoke. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Cool, damp warehousing slows the loss of the angel's share over the years. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

At 46% it is clean and coastal. Peat, smoked fish and a citrus oil, with honey and apricot from the cask. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is a clean, smoky Islay single malt from Caol Ila.