This exceptionally drinkable bottling of a single cask of 11 Year Old Caol Ila had an extended finish in an ex-Cote Rotie Wine Cask (Rhone Valley likely to be Shiraz/Voignier). The resultant whisky has animated notes of cigar smoke, dried red fruits, freshly laid tar, boiled sweets, sea salt and cracked black pepper.
The cask turned out 350 bottles, of which 24 have made the journey Downunder.
Bottled at cask strength of 55.2% ABV.
Caol Ila was founded in 1846 on Islay’s East coast, next to Port Askaig. The distillery was demolished by current owner, Diageo, in 1972 and rebuilt with a massively increased capacity; making it the largest producer of single malt whisky on Islay. Despite receiving the same spec of malt, from Port Ellen Maltings, as Lagavulin, Caol Ila’s distillation regime produces a lighter, less phenolic spirit. Their spirit is described as coastal, gently smoky, grassy, floral and fruity. Â An IB with some history;
The Whisky Cellar was founded by Keith Bonnington, a Keeper Of The Quaich, and is based out of Edinburgh. Before branching out on his own, Bonnington spend almost two decades in the Scotch industry with 11 years at Edrington working with Macallan, Highland Park and Glenrothes. Bottling single casks batch by batch, they pull from a wide variety of well known distilleries, with a style that leans toward the richer side.
