- Caol Ila
Infobox Scottish Distillery
Name = Caol Ila
Type = Islay
Image size = 250
Caption =
Location =
Owner =
Founded = 1846
Status = Operational
Source =
Mothballed = 1930-1937, 1942-1945
Stills = 3 wash
3 spirit
Capacity = 3,500,000 L
Brand 1 = Caol Ila
Type 1 =
Age 1 = 12-year-old
cask strength
18-year-old
25-year-old
Cask 1 = American oak
ABV 1 =Caol Ila Distillery is a
Scotch whisky distillery nearPort Askaig on the isle ofIslay ,Scotland .History
Caol Ila is pronounced "cull eela" and is Gaelic 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 whenNorman 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 ofDiageo .The distillery closed during
World War II , from 1942–1945, because of wartime restrictions on the supply ofbarley 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.The whisky
Caol Ila is one of the lighter Islay whiskies, pale in colour, with peaty, floral and peppery notes. In addition to being sold as a single malt, it is used heavily in blends such as
Johnnie Walker andBlack Bottle .See also
*
Islay whisky
*Scotch whisky
*Whisky
*List of whisky brands
*List of distilleries in Scotland External links
* [http://www.malts.com/en-us/Malts/summary/CaolIla.html Caol Ila official website]
* [http://www.discovering-distilleries.com/caolila Caol Ila visitor information]
* [http://www.islaywhiskysociety.com/caol_ila Islay Whisky Society]
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