Caol Ila 9 Years Old 2016 Cask #4 (Part) (Signatory)

From the Pitlochry bottler Signatory Vintage, a 9 year old Caol Ila, distilled in 2016, from cask 4 (Part), bottled at 58.4%, one of 380 bottles. Caol Ila has distilled at Port Askaig since the middle of the 19th century. Its peated character is built on malt smoked to a medium level of phenols.

The spirit was distilled in tall stills that lend the smoke an oily lightness, for a smoky spirit with a citrus lift. A long spell in ex-Bourbon oak rounded the spirit gently. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted hemicellulose sugars (a light caramel) fast, the phenols still sharp and medicinal. Time in oak deepens the oily body while the maritime smoke stays bright. The malt is medium peated, giving a cleaner smoke than the south shore Islays. The six tall stills sit behind picture windows looking out to Jura. Smoked citrus and a saline minerality are the hallmarks of the make.

At 58.4% without water it is rich and full. Smoke, lemon and a peppery oil, with a creamy oak note. An oily smoke coats the palate, citrus and brine behind. Smoke and sea salt see out a long finish. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.