Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2015 Cask #DL 18761 (Old Particular)

This Caol Ila was bottled by the Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing, a 9 year old, distilled in 2015, from cask DL 18761, bottled at 56.8%, one of 565 bottles. Caol Ila looks out across the Sound to the Paps of Jura. Its peated character is built on malt smoked to a medium level of phenols.

Distilled slowly from peated malt for a refined island smoke, for the light, maritime smoke Caol Ila is known for. A red wine cask lent berry fruit and a dry, tannic edge. At an extractive age eugenol lends a clove note and oak lactones a coconut sweetness, the guaiacol smoke bright and fresh. Maturation by the sea gives the malt its mineral, sea spray character. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura. Cool, damp warehousing slows the loss of the angel's share over the years. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath.

At 56.8% without water it is rich and full. A fresh peat smoke over oily lemon, with plum and red berry from the cask. A maritime salt and a lemon lift run through it. The smoke fades slow over citrus and a mineral tang. This is an Islay malt that wears its smoke lightly.