Caol Ila 12 Year Old 2012 Benchmark Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 700ML

This Caol Ila single malt has been treated to a rather exciting finish in imperial stout casks from the Wild Beer Co., thanks to the gang at indie bottler Murray McDavid! The whisky spent 18 months finishing in the stout casks, taking on plenty of rich chocolatey malt and coffee character before it was bottled for Murray McDavid's Benchmark collection in 2024.

Caol Ila 12 Year Old 2012 Benchmark Single Malt Scotch Whisky | 700ML Tasting Notes

Nose: Coastal smoke, salted caramel, waxy oak, cocoa.

Palate: Rich notes of dark chocolate join peaty salinity and drying, biscuity malt.

Finish: Roasted coffee, chocolate, and sweet smoke linger.

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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