Caol Ila 1988 Sherry Wood Finish Private Collection Gordon & Macphail

About The Brand: Caol Ila

Diageo owns the Caol Ila Distillery, a Scotch whiskey distillery on the Scottish island of Islay not far from Port Askaig. In reference to the distillery's position overlooking the strait between Islay and Jura, Caol Ila is derived from the Gaelic word caol le, which means 'Sound of Islay' (also known as 'Islay Strait'). Hector Henderson established it in 1846. The Isle of Jura Distillery owner Norman Buchanan took over the distillery in 1854 after it did not perform well. Bulloch Lade & Co, whiskey stock merchants from Glasgow, bought the company in 1863. Duncan Johnston was the distillery manager in 1871, according to the census. The Johnston family was associated with yet another distillery on the island since Duncan was John Johnston of Lagavulin's nephew and a relative of the Johnstons who own Laphroaig. By the 1880s, the area was producing more than 147,000 imperial gallons (670,000 L) of whiskey annually. As a result of Bulloch Lade's voluntary insolvency in 1920, a group of merchants established the Caol Ila Distillery Company Ltd. The Distillers Company bought a majority stake in Caol Ila in 1927, and Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. acquired full ownership of the company in 1930. Due to constraints on the supply of barley to distillers during the Second World War, the distillery was forced to close between 1942 and 1945. Production continued after that up until 1972, when the distillery's whole building was destroyed. Production subsequently restarted in 1974 when a bigger distillery that George Leslie Darge had designed in the same architectural style as many of his predecessors and with his signature glass curtain walls to the still buildings was erected. Diageo eventually acquired the business.