Cuvée presentation
Single cask Caol Ila (#5299), distilled in 1983, matured in a hogshead and bottled in 2014 by Signatory Vintage. Its founder, Andrew Symington, entered the whisky business selecting casks for Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh, an experience that led him to establish Signatory Vintage in 1988. Symington invested in a small bottling line, which he installed in his Edinburgh warehouses. From the outset, he bottled whisky at cask strength, without chill filtration or added colouring, practices that were still relatively uncommon in the late 1980s. The legendary “dumpy bottle” series also provided details rarely disclosed by bottlers at the time, including cask number and type and the number of bottles produced, with each bottle individually numbered by hand. Signatory Vintage built its reputation not only on landmark releases from legendary distilleries such as Springbank, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Bowmore, but also on bottlings from exceptionally rare distilleries including Ben Wyvis, Glen Flagler and Killyloch. These were complemented by numerous releases distilled in Lomond stills at Miltonduff (Mosstowie), Glen Keith (Craigduff, Glenisla) and Glenburgie (Glencraig). In 2002, Andrew Symington acquired Edradour distillery in Pitlochry in the Highlands and relocated Signatory Vintage there, with its warehouses facing the distillery. Limited edition of 230 bottles.
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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