Cask Number: #303575/4

Age: 9 years

ABV: 55.5% Bottled at Cask Strength

Cask Type: Refill Bourbon Hogshead with a Pedro Ximenez Sherry Octave Finish

Bottle Size: 700ml

Tasting Notes: Heather smoke and parma violets on the nose, followed by tastes of sweet toffee and fruit cake.

This Caol Ila was bottled exclusively for Scotch Drinkers Only. It was aged in a refill bourbon hogshead and finished in a PX sherry octave. 

Natural color, non-chill filtered.

Reviews from Real Scotch Drinkers

By Chris Browne AKA the Islay Enthusiast

If you’re unfamiliar with what an Octave cask is, the name originated from the Latin word octavus, meaning “eighth”. These casks are small and approximately an eighth of the size of a normal sherry butt, and holds roughly 45-50 liters of spirit. So in many cases an Octave cask is used for accelerated maturation. These casks can lend some intense bold flavors to your whisky.

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑: Deep rich golden amber.

𝐍𝐎𝐒𝐄: This whisky has such a wide range of beautiful smells …. You get the wonderful smells of a cold wet whisky dunnage in Scotland, beautiful campfire smoke, dry oak wood, lots of bacon, along with the sweetness resembling raisins and dates. This is a peated whisky lovers paradise!

𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄: Once again a beautiful inviting sweetness resembling a rich thick sweet sherry wine. Also lots of honey up front. And that sought after campfire smoke taste that many peated whisky lovers seek out. That beautiful smoky flavor remains for a nice long time. The fact that this is a cask strength whisky it offers you lots of full flavor!

𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: This whisky is one that I would always have on my shelf for my peated whisky friends. Keep in mind that this is a Limited Edition so its availability is limited. This whisky is Cask Strength and BOLD, and beautifully peated for those who appreciate a special peated whisky.

About Caol Ila Distillery

Located on the most famous island in the whisky world, Caol Ila Distillery, is hidden from view of both the winding narrow road leading to it and the nearby Port Askaig ferry. Rising from the rocky waters, one see’s the iconic black lettering of Caol Ila on the huge white washed warehouses. In sharp contract to the traditional warehouse buildings, is the huge glass front stillhouse, with its magnificent views across the sound to the Paps of Jura.

Although Caol Ila, is currently the largest of the Islay distilleries it sometimes feels forgotten. There’s not a ton of flashy advertising or promotion of the brand from Diageo, who still relies heavily on Caol Ila production for its Johnnie Walker blends.

Islay, in general is a majestic and heartwarming place, but to Caol Ila fanatics it feels like home.  And home it is indeed to the generations of Islay families who have been instrumental to all aspects of the whisky’s production, including the legandary Stitchell family whose contributions graced Caol Ila for four generations.

The distillery has a tremendous cult following and quite frankly it’s deserved. While there are some single malt Caol Ila releases from Diageo, the majority of single malts from Caol Ila are released by independent bottlers.

Caol Ila single malts are known for their light peat flavor, complemented by notes of flora and pepper. The distillate is not nearly as peat intense as its neighbors on the south end of Islay and that’s exactly what Caol Ila fanatics love.