CAOL ILA 卡爾里拉

Caol Ila 12 Year Old 70cl 43.0%

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Fresh, herbal. Rubbed peppermint leaves, stemmy, damp grass, smoky. Oily, cigar leaves, smoked ham, hickory. Lemon peels at the harbour.

Palate: Good body, oily, tar, elegant smoke. Hints of boiled sweets.

Finish: Long, peppery, spicy warmth, smoke.

Awards for Caol Ila 12

1st Place Best Single Malt Scotch 12 Years - 2015
International Whisky Competition

Gold Islay up to 12 years old - 2015
The Scotch Whisky Masters (The Spirits Business)

Gold Distillers' Single Malts 12 years and under - 2014
International Spirits Challenge

Caol Ila 2001 (bottled 2013) Moscatel Cask Finish - Distillers Edition 70cl 43.0%

Tasting Note by The Chaps at Master of Malt

Nose: Wafts of peat smoke, followed by candied orange peels and a subtle nuttiness.

Palate: Sweet, malty notes, paired with warm peat that grows and grows. Cinnamon spices from the sherry cask come into play if left to breathe.

Finish: A long finish, rich with complex notes from the palate.

Overall: An inviting dram with layers and layers of flavour to discover.

Caol Ila 25 Year Old 70cl 43.0%

Caol Ila 25 (43%) Bottling Note

25 year old malt from Islay's most prolific distillery - Caol Ila. Sweet Smooth, and very 'sherbet-lemony'. Only a hint of Smoke, and just superb.

Caol Ila is derived from Gaelic Caol Ìle for "Sound of islay" (lit. "Islay Strait") in reference to the distillery's location overlooking the strait between Islay and Jura. It was founded in 1846 by Hector Henderson. The distillery did not fare well, and changed hands in 1854 when Norman Buchanan, owner of the Isle of Jura Distillery, took over. In 1863 the business was acquired by Bulloch Lade & Co, of Glasgow, traders in whisky stocks. By the 1880s over 147,000 gallons of whisky were produced there each year.

In 1920 Bulloch Lade went into voluntary liquidation, and a consortium of businessmen formed the Caol Ila Distillery Company Ltd. In 1927 the Distillers Company acquired a controlling interest in Caol Ila, and in 1930 Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd obtained ownership of all the shares. The distillery closed during World War 2, from 1942 to 1945, because of wartime restrictions on the supply of barley to distillers. From then, production continued until 1972, when the entire structure of the distillery was demolished. A larger distillery was then built, designed by George Leslie Darge in the same architectural style as many of his others with his trademark glazed curtain walls to the still houses, and production resumed in 1974. The company eventually became part of Diageo.

Caol Ila 卡爾里拉酒廠是由Hector Henderson於1846年所建立，鄰近Port Askaig。Caol Ila意旨艾雷之聲的意思，早期該酒廠風味屬於淡泥煤風格。1960年代由於調和威士忌的盛行，當時的酒廠擁有者Diage為了彌補泥煤威士忌的不足，在 1966年恢復Port Ellen的生產，1969年又再擴增了Brora酒廠來生產泥煤款威士忌。由於調和威士忌需求量仍繼續增加，至1974年進行了Caol Ila現代化增建工程。1970年代Caol Ila的擴建也使得Port Ellen及Brora漸漸走入關廠的命運。
Caol Ila 卡爾里拉酒廠水源是採當地瀑布，水源也提供包括搬運、起重大麥的動力以及消防栓的水源。Caol Ila目前擁有一套獨特的熱交換系統，其是運用海水冷卻蒸餾過程所產生的熱水，再導入冷凝器中。目前它是Diageo酒業集團最重要的艾雷島威士忌酒廠， 也是艾雷島產量最大的酒廠。