Scotland, Isle of Islay. Distillery operational. Owner: Diageo

Fully modernized between 1972 and 1974, Caol Ila escaped the wave of closures sweeping through the Scotch whisky industry in the early 1980s. A key component in numerous blends, including Johnnie Walker, Bulloch Lade and Black Bottle, Caol Ila remained for a long time overshadowed by its illustrious sister Lagavulin. Up until the late 1980s, its malt was available in 12 and 15 year old versions bottled by Bulloch Lade & Co. In the early 1990s, United Distilleries launched two ranges showcasing all of its distilleries, The Rare Malts Selection and Flora & Fauna. Four versions of Caol Ila would be bottled first (vintage and cask strength limited editions), followed by a 43% 14 year old. Note that a 1983 cask strength in the very short-lived Fauna & Flora Cask Strength range and, more importantly, a classic 15 year old sherry cask - The Manager's Dram - were also released. In order to relieve Lagavulin of the pressure on its stocks in the early 2000s, Caol Ila was officially released on the market in 2002 in the Hidden Malt range, alongside three versions of its malt, a no-age-statement cask strength (55%), a 12 year old, and an 18 year old, followed by a 1978 25 year old in 2004.

A cask strength Caol Ila bottled by Specialty Drinks for the Elements of Islay range, which, as the name implies, features only whiskies from Islay. ‘CI’’ refers to ‘Caol Ila’’ and ‘12’’ to this being the twelfth Caol Ila in the range. This is a blend of two refill sherry butts from 2011. A limited edition of 1,901 bottles.