Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2011 Cask #317210 (Signatory)

The Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage bottled this Caol Ila, a 9 year old, distilled in 2011, from cask 317210, bottled at 46%, one of 302 bottles. Caol Ila stands below a steep brae on Islay's rugged east shore. Most of its peated malt is destined for the Johnnie Walker blends.

This was distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, building the elegant Islay smoke at its heart. An American oak cask shaped it, soft and sweet beneath the peat. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted hemicellulose sugars (a light caramel) fast, the phenols still sharp and medicinal. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. The oily texture comes from the spirit cut, the cask adding depth around it.

At an approachable 46% it is balanced. A smoky, briny coastal character, with a soft vanilla from the oak. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. Lemon, soft ash and sea salt see it out. This is a lemony, coastal Islay single malt.