Cuvée presentation
A single cask (#313175) Caol Ila distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2018. Silvano Samaroli is considered as one of the most influential independent bottlers of their time, and rightly so, because he is above all a spirits lover as well as pioneer. His career began at the end of the 1960s, first as an importer in Italy where he distributed the Linkwood single malt as well as several blends. It wasn’t until the following decade that his independent bottling business would begin, with a cask strength bottling of the 1965 Bruichladdich 10-Year-Old. During this time, single malts weren’t nearly as popular as blends. Nevertheless, Samaroli embarked on a meticulous selection and bottling project in close contact with distilleries, and more importantly, independent Scottish bottlers. He championed whiskies from single casks and bottled at cask strength and promoted ageing in the bottle. Regarded as a visionary in many respects, some of his bottlings are considered the most legendary ever bottled, such as his 1966 Bowmore Bouquet, or the 1948 West Indies Rum. Silvano Samaroli is more than a simple player in the bottling industry, he is one of its founding icons.
The distillery Caol Ila
Scotland, Isle of Islay. Distillery operational. Owner: Diageo
Fully modernized between 1972 and 1974, Caol Ila escaped the wave of closures sweeping through the Scotch whisky industry in the early 1980s. A key component in numerous blends, including Johnnie Walker, Bulloch Lade and Black Bottle, Caol Ila remained for a long time overshadowed by its illustrious sister Lagavulin. Up until the late 1980s, its malt was available in 12 and 15 year old versions bottled by Bulloch Lade & Co. In the early 1990s, United Distilleries launched two ranges showcasing all of its distilleries, The Rare Malts Selection and Flora & Fauna. Four versions of Caol Ila would be bottled first (vintage and cask strength limited editions), followed by a 43% 14 year old. Note that a 1983 cask strength in the very short-lived Fauna & Flora Cask Strength range and, more importantly, a classic 15 year old sherry cask - The Manager's Dram - were also released. In order to relieve Lagavulin of the pressure on its stocks in the early 2000s, Caol Ila was officially released on the market in 2002 in the Hidden Malt range, alongside three versions of its malt, a no-age-statement cask strength (55%), a 12 year old, and an 18 year old, followed by a 1978 25 year old in 2004.
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