Caol Ila NAS

An official Caol Ila, at 43%, 10000 bottles in all. Caol Ila is a workhorse of the blending halls and a favourite of malt drinkers. The clean, lemony smoke has made it a favourite of blenders for generations.

This was distilled with a long fermentation and a clean cut, building the elegant Islay smoke at its heart. A sherry cask gave dried fruit and a dark, nutty sweetness. No age is given, but vanillin vanilla and the lemony phenols of the smoke are well knit. The lighter style means the cask and the citrus speak alongside the peat. Most of its peated malt is destined for the Johnnie Walker blends. Tall stills and a clean cut give the spirit its oily, lemony lightness. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

At an approachable 43% it is balanced. A lemony Islay smoke over olive oil, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A sea salt and an olive oil note sit under the smoke. The close is long, smoke over a citrus lift. This is a clean coastal malt with a lemony peat.