Caol Ila 12 Year Old Bulloch Lade 1980s / Zenith Import

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. 

This is the old version of the 12 year old, introduced by Bulloch Lade under license from DCL in the 1970s. This is from the dying days of the Caol Ila single malt brand under United Distillers, who opted to bottle it under the Flora & Fauna banner in 1991 instead.