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 blend of two Caol Ila casks (#2925-6) distilled in 1980 and bottled in 1998 by the Genoese bottler Signatory Vintage. Signatory Vintage was founded in 1988 by Andrew Symington, who previously worked at Prestonfield House, Edinburgh, where he would select casks specially for the hotel. In 2002, he bought the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry, in the Highlands of Scotland and moved Signatory Vintage vintage to the site, including the warehouses opposite the distillery.