Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2013 The Nectar of the Daily Drams (Daily Dram)

From the bottler Daily Dram, a 9 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2013, bottled at 46%. Caol Ila is an east coast Islay distillery on the strait facing Jura. Water falls to the distillery from Loch nam Ban in the hills above.

Here the spirit was made from medium peated malt for a clean, smoky spirit, shaping the lighter side of Islay. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, a soft vanilla beneath the spirit. In its extractive youth the spirit takes vanillin vanilla and lactone coconut quickly, the peat phenols vivid and lemony. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. Olive oil and lemon sit at the heart of the Caol Ila character. The spirit's high notes of lemon and grass survive even long maturation. The distillery was expanded again in the 21st century to meet blend demand. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

At 46% it is soft, oily and bright. A clean maritime smoke with lemon and brine, with a touch of vanilla and toffee. Lemon, olive oil and a soft ash run through the middle. Ash, lemon and brine draw out the close. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.