Consecutive owners included Henderson, Lamont & Co (1852-1854),
Norman Buchanan (1863-1879) and Bulloch, Lade & Co (proprietors
of Camlachie) who rebuilt and expanded the distillery. Caol Ila was
liquidated and sold to J. P. O'Brien Ltd in 1920, who in turn sold it
to the Caol Ila Distillery Co Ltd. the same year. DCL took control in
1927 and transferred Caol Ila to SMD in 1930 who shut it down.

The Caol Ila distillery on Islay is located near Port Askaig, on
the north-east corner of the island. It's quite isolated, it's closest
neighbor being Bunnahabhain. Caol Ila was built in 1846 by Hector
Henderson who also owned the Camlachie distillery in Glasgow.  

Caol Ila was silent until 1937 and had to close down during part of WWII as well.
These were the only periods Caol Ila was silent; despite the many changes in ownership Caol Ila has been in production almost constantly since 1846. After WWII things proceeded relatively uneventful at Caol Ila for a few decades before it was rebuilt and extended from two to six stills between 1972 and 1974. The distillery was completely rebuilt in order to meet increased demand from the blenders, only the warehouses (still filled with maturing whisky) were spared.

Caol Ila NAS 'Cask Strength' (55%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004)
Nose: Grainy, then paint thinner. Harsh and quite odd. Later more organics emerge. Something coastal.
Is that peat? Yeah, it seems to be. More peat, organics and complexity in the nose with time.
Taste: The obvious high proof gives it substance. Wonderfully sweet and peaty on the palate.
Score: 86 points - it's far from perfect, but there's a lot of fun to be had here.
My surprised response: Haha; another Caol Ila OB that seems on the way up.

Caol Ila 12yo (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004)
Nose: Hey, this is a peaty one again. Lovely! Light and transparent with organics. Leather.
Brine. There's a fruity sweetness as well. Now I get some more spices - really quite lovely.
Great development and complexity. The nose just needs some time. Opens up quite nicely.
Taste: Oy, not quite as powerful as I'd expected. Watery start, then sweet and peaty.
It becomes more powerful after a few seconds; big peaty burn - but just a little too 'flat'.
Score: 84 points - Plenty of fun to be had here, although it's not very 'deep'.

Caol Ila 18yo (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2004)
Nose: Much lighter than the previous blinds. Sweet grains. Then hints of oil, opening up.
Spices. Yes, I think I finally get some peat - not a lot, though. Another malt that needs time.
Taste: Very weak start, then drier with the faintest hint of liquorice. Gritty. Then sweeter.
Score: 82 points - a little too dry; not the good sherry drought, but the bourbon kind.

These were the three main bottlings in the range of 'official' bottlings.
Since this range was only released in the early noughties I've sampled mostly independent bottlings.
Some of the very best among these have been the following bottlings;

Caol Ila 15yo 1969 (40%, Connoisseurs Choice, Old Map Label) - distilled before distillery refit (!)
The nose was very rich with lots of organics. Peat, of course, but that's just the 'foundation'.
I probably would have mistaken it for an Ardbeg in a blind test. This is a highly enjoyable dram.
Taste: It performed excellent on the palate as well; much more character and depth than other CC's.
Very powerful with just that hint of bitterness in the finish that makes you long for one more dram.
Score: 89 points - this came very close to becoming my favourite ever Caol Ila. A blast from the past.

Caol Ila 19yo 1983/2003 (46%, Berry Bros).
Nose: typically Caol Ila; Transparent and lightly peated, growing stronger. Leather & Liquorice.
Heavier organics and coastal notes emerge with time, making more of a 'Kildalton' impression.
Taste: It starts out hot and clean on the palate, growing deeper. Great, but not quite 90's material.
Score: 88 points - not the best Caol Ila I ever had but it's somewhere in the top echelon.

Caol Ila 21yo 1975/1997 (61.3%, UD Rare Malts)
Nose: Peaty, flowery, smoky, oily, salty. Changed quite a bit when adding water.
The sweetness became more obvious and more like molasses - both in nose and in taste.
Taste: Quite drinkable after two splashes of water (to maybe 45 Vol% alc.), but still numbing.
Score: 90 points - Great stuff... Oh, man. This malt has got it all...

Caol Ila 24yo 1975 (54.3%, Wilson & Morgan)
Nose had organics, a little oil and plenty of peat. Very 'farmy'. Cow stable. Leather. Quite unique.
The style is very much that of a 'Kildalton' malt whisky - just like the 2004 W&M 'House Malt'.
Taste: There was a subdued peatiness on the palate, growing stronger. No sweetness at all.
I usually like my malts quite sweet, but in this case it works for me. The last few drops were the best.
Score: 89 points - almost 'legendary' 90's material, but I prefer the 'dirtier' Islays myself.
 

Check out my Track Record for a complete and up-to-date overview of all 'siplings' I've tried.
 
 
 

In 1989 the first 'semi-official' bottling was
released in the 'Fauna & Flora' range. This
would be the only official bottling in a long
time (not counting UDV's 'Rare Malts'); the
current core range of 12yo, 18yo and C/S
bottlings was first released in the early noughties.

The name Caol Ila (pronounced as 'kul-eela' and easily misspelled as Coal Ila) is Gaelic for 'Sound of Islay' and is probably inspired by the location of the distillery along the stretch of water between Islay and Jura.

After 1974 Caol Ila started to buy their malt from the Port Ellen maltings. Some connoisseurs make a clear distinction between the heavier 'old' Caol Ila that was produced before 1972 and the lighter, cleaner spirit that was distilled after the expansion in 1974. The Caol Ila distillery became part of the United Distillers conglommerate in 1986.

Trivia about Caol Ila:  After the distillery was remodeled and expanded in 1974 to better suit the needs of blenders Caol Ila introduced a novel new whisky for blenders in the mid 1980's: an unpeated malt whisky known as 'Caol Ila Highland'. When I write this I haven't tried that whisky yet - and maybe I never will. After all, the product was intended for blending and most if not all casks would thus have gone to blenders for... erm... blending.

Since most blenders were not in the habit of storing their casks for very long (with the exception of Douglas Laing, perhaps) there probably are not than manu casks of Caol Ila Highland around - if any at all...