Caol Ila 1999 Hidden Spirits 14 Year Old

Following the lead of esteemed countrymen such as Samaroli and Moon Import in the 1980s, Hidden Spirits is part of a new generation of independent Italian bottlers. Founded by Andrea Ferrari, the company operates an online store for fine and rare collectible spirits, as well as bottling some very respected independent single malts and rum.

This whisky was distilled in 1999 and laid to rest in single cask #303317 for 14 years before being bottled in 2013.

Caol Ila distillery was built in 1846 by Hector Henderson, who was bought out from the venture a little over 10 year later by Bulloch Lade. The blending firm merged with DCL (now Diageo) in 1927, who still run the distillery today. In 1972 the original site was demolished and replaced by a new one. When distilling resumed in 1974, Caol Ila was the largest producer of single malt on the Isle of Islay. Despite this, due to its importance in popular blends such as Johnnie Walker, its single malt brand disappeared under United Distillers, and it was not until 2002 that it would return, when the 12 year old was revived by Diageo. The Flora & Fauna release was well-regarded in the meantime, but it was independent releases like this that gave the best opportunity to sample this much-loved single malt.

One of 100 bottles.