Caol Ila 1968 Gordon and MacPhail Private Collection

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.

Single refill ex-Sherry Hogshead #4021901 was filled on 21st May 1968 and laid to rest before being bottled by Gordon & MacPhail on 6th July 2018.

This is part of the Private Collection range from the Elgin-based bottlers. As of 2018, this line fully replaced the Rare Old series as its most premium offerings, and come exceptionally presented in decadent glass bottles.

One of 199 bottles.