Caol Ila 14 years old (D.1993, B.2007) Silver Seal / 46% / 0.7l

Silver Seal Whisky Company, an Italian company operating since 2000, is considered the successor to the legendary Sestante, established in 1979.

Massimo Righi acquired the rights to both brands in 2010, after, as he admits, building up a two-year stockpile of whiskies. In recent years, there has been a lot of activity in the Silver Seal range, and the excellent selection of casks has earned the company a great reputation. Caol Ila 14 years old (distilled 1993) is a single cask limited to 757 bottles. The whisky is offered at 46% abv and is not chill-filtered. The Caol Ila Distillery, built in 1846, is now owned by Diageo and, following a modernisation completed in 2011, is the largest distillery on Islay, with a production capacity of 6.5 million litres of distillate per year.

Nose: peat smoke and ash, diesel fumes, damp hay, smoked oysters, sea water, grilled asparagus, lemons, grapefruits and a pinch of white pepper.

Palate: smokey and fruity, peaches, gooseberries, grapefruits, salted caramel, roasted peanuts, notes of tobacco, lemongrass and pepper.

Finish: long, with notes of peat smoke, sea salt, orchard fruit, lemon peel, white pepper and cigar ash.