Islay Caol Ila Malt Whisky Distillery. Pictures and distillery tour info

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Whisky & Distilleries

Caol Ila Distillery

Back to Distillery Map

Caol Ila Distillery Caol Ila Tours, Opening Hours and Contact

Weekdays: 14th February - 1st April 2011
Monday-Friday 13:30-16:30. Tours 14:00,15:15

April - June 2011
Monday-Friday 09:15-17:00. Tours 09:30 10:45, 13:45 & 15:15

Premium Tour and Tasting: Tour of the distillery followed by an insightful look at a medley of our award winning whiskies. Every Monday & Friday, 10:45 from 4th April - end May 2011. Booking is advisable but not essential.
Parties of ten or more should enquire for availibility outwith these times/days. Children under eight are welcome but not admitted into production areas. Tour costs £6 and includes a complimentary Caol Ila tour glass and entry into Lagavulin distillery.

June - December 2011:
Please contact the distillery for tours or tastings. From June-December 2011 Caol Ila shop will be open, however, due to the distillery upgrade please call in advance to save disappointment.

Current owner: Diageo
Distillery Manager: Billy Stitchell
caolila.distillery@diageo.com
www.discovering-distilleries.com
+ 44 (0) 1496 302769
+ 44 (0) 1496 302760

Caol Ila History and Distillery Information
Caol Ila (Gaelic for “Sound of Islay” and pronounced col eela) 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 Limited acquired a controlling interest in Caol Ila, and in 1930 Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd obtained ownership of all the shares. The company eventually became part of Diageo.

The distillery closed during World War II, from 1941–1945, 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 built in the same original architectural style, and production resumed in 1974.

Bottlings
Here are the most important bottlings of Caol Ila:

Caol Ila 12yo, 43% ABV.

Caol Ila 18yo, 43% ABV.

Caol Ila Cask Strength at 55% ABV.

Caol Ila 15yo, Flora and Fauna, 43% ABV. Hard to find.

Caol Ila 1981, Bottled 1997, Cask Strength Limited Bottling, 63.8 ABV.

Caol Ila 20yo, bottled 1996, 57.86 ABV, 150th Anniversary Edition.

Caol Ila Rare Malts varying from 20, 21 and 23 yo but hard to find.

Lady of the Isles - Personalised Whisky Tours over the Island

Books from Amazon

Andrew Jefford - Peat Smoke and Spirit

Those who discover malt whisky quickly learn that the malts made on the Isle of Islay are some of the wildest and most characterful in the malt-whisky spectrum.

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