Caol Ila Diageo Special Releases 2018 35 Years Old 1982

This 35 year old Caol Ila comes from the distillery itself, from 1982, at 58.1%, 3276 bottles in all. Caol Ila wears its Islay smoke more lightly than its southern neighbours. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

It was drawn off the distillery's six tall stills from peated barley, shaping the lighter side of Islay. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon wood, the oak quiet behind the spirit. Ethereal and fragile, decades have drawn the spirit to a waxy, tropical delicacy, sotolon and old oak over a soft mineral smoke. Caol Ila's smoke leans to lemon, olive oil and brine rather than tar or iodine. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, which is why it suits so many wood types. A slow maturation in the cool island air keeps the spirit fresh and oily. Active wood frames the smoke without smothering the citrus beneath.

Bottled at a cask strength 58.1%, it is intense. Smoked lemon, brine and a green olive note, with a quiet vanilla under the smoke. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with citrus. A long, briny finish ends on lemon and soft smoke. This is one of the most versatile of the Islay malts.