Caol Ila 37 Year Old 1981 (cask 3245) - Rare Master's Collection (Mackillop's Choice) | 700ML

A brilliant single cask Caol Ila, this particular Islay whisky was distilled back in May 1981. It spent its days in a single bourbon hogshead for the best part of four decades, until June 2018 when Mackillop's Choice bottled it up for the Rare Master's Collection at 37 years old. The hogshead yielded 183 bottles at a cask strength of 56.1% ABV, all looking rather handsome.

Caol Ila 37 Year Old 1981 (cask 3245) - Rare Master's Collection (Mackillop's Choice) | 700ML Tasting Notes

Nose: Aromas of apples, rich grapefruit, old oak, high quality honey.

Palate: Red and green apples, grapefruit, very rich, with some toffee. Creamy mouthfeel.

Finish: Great elegance and length on the finish.

Distillery Information

Caol Ila was founded to the North of Islay in 1846 by the pleasingly-named Hector Henderson. It is located near Port Askaig and sits in lush, floral surroundings, overlooking the cove and the Paps of southern Jura. The distillery draws its water from Loch Nam Ban, whose waters travel through limestone and peat before reaching their beneficiary, Caol Ila. The whisky distillery was sold to Norman Buchanan in 1852 and then, following monetary hardship, to the Glasgow-based blenders Bulloch, Lade and Co who renovated the buildings in 1879. Following liquidation, Distillers Company Ltd acquired Caol Ila and the distillery was subsequently transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers. The capacity is moderate at 3.65 million litres annually, the majority of which is used in Johnnie Walker blends. Just 5% is kept for maturation as single malt. From 1999, unpeated single malts have been experimented with and in 2006 the first unpeated bottling was released in the form of an eight year-old. Caol Ila, whose name derives from the Gaelic for ‘Sound of Islay’, has been included in the Diageo Classic Malts range, exhibiting twelve and eighteen year-old expressions as well as a Moscatel-finished Distillers Edition. Independent bottlings can also be found.

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