Caol Ila Distillery

We were unaware that Caol Isla is the base for JW, as it stands beautifully on its own. Gorgeous distillery, great bar & coffee/ espresso for the driver. Lovely whisky. 🥃. A very short drive from the ferry. If you spend a bit on the whiskey, you can have your bottle engraved as a keepsake. We did. Great memories. If you love whiskey, do not miss.

Our visit to Coal Ila distillery was not scheduled as part of our tour so it was more of a brief stop on our way north to Bunnahabhain. As a result, although we did get a dram for visiting, we didn't get to see the production floor or have a tour. If I ever do the Scottish Routes tour of Islay again, then I hope to choose a tour where more time can be spent at Caol Ila. The drink itself is one of my favorites as it has a distinctive (lighter?) flavor profile I cant quite describe. The distillery has a nice bit of landscaping around the back where a stream trickles down a slight slope, possibly from where they take their water for distilling.

Beautiful premises and a very modern store with a well stocked bar. However, overall more a Johnny Walker than a Caol Ila experience. Missed the personal touch.

Had a lovely visit to the distillery, with a tour followed by a tasting of the malts. Tour was by Duncan, a true gentleman and very knowledgeable about whisky, also gave some great insights into what makes Caol Ila truly unique. And what a view from the tasting area!

Beautifully presented visitors centre with stunning coastal views. We had the chocolate and whisky pairing experience which was a fun alternative to any of the other distillery tours we'd done over the weekend. It was silent season so tour options were limited. The only disappointment was that we'd been able to book a full tour months ago, only to have the booking cancelled with a few weeks' notice. It seemed avaoidable considering silent season (I assume) is planned well in advance.

We arrived to Islay the first day into Port Askaig and took the 5 minute drive to Caol Ila. This distillery was recently redone and the interior of the shop/ tasting area is beautiful. They had many distillery reserved selections and was an overall great experiance.

We did the Spirit of Smoke: Cask Draw & Tasting Experience with Phoebe. It was fantastic! Such detail and ability to tailor the conversation to your interests. It was super unique to be in the cask house and also be able to draw a dram from the barrel. Phoebe did an amazing job guiding us through the nuances of the flavors and answering all of our many questions. It really was a special, unique and personal experience.

Good distillery on amazing location. We had the "closed stills" tour, but despite that, the tour guide, Sarah, was good at showing us the history, processes and flavours of the whisky. Amazing view during the tasting. Spacious whisky bar and visitor centre, with a machine to engrave your own bottle for a charge (excellent for gifts!). Things that I did not like: how much they push the "Johnny Walker" brand, both in visuals and during the tour; 3 malts to taste, but no choice; the warehouse is just for show; and of course, a tour of a closed distillery at ordinary price (the tour could have included a walk to the exterior of the still house at least).

I thought i reviewed this spot. This is a must stop distillery. It's a new distillery and looks nice. It is clean and a great main area. The store has a bar and food and all kinds of great things to buy. The store also has some exclusive bottles. The service there was what you'd expect, very friendly and high end. Treating all customers really well. This is one of the newer distilleries on Islay. Anyhow it was awesome. Really enjoyed the stop and all the stuff I bought.

Cool distillery with some nice views of Jura and the sea over in Port Askaig. They carry a good range of whisky and will gladly pour you a few free drams of the core range (and any specials, which vary) just for stopping by. Personally, I was a fan of the "Moch." Friendly staff (Emma was very nice) who are super knowledgeable and accommodating and have some fun stories to tell too. Stop by!

We didn't get a tour but we did get some great info in the shop and many free drams LOL. It was a mega rainy day and we enjoyed some beautiful scenery of the distillery and rainbows. Plus rain water in my whisky which I drank outside watching the waves. Tranquil and wonderful. Like most of the distilleries they have some cool clothing option and other items for sale. They were also promoting the White Walker as they are a Johnnie Walker/Diagio brand. And I like Game of Thrones so I was into it... but I was more interested in sampling the whisky. The girl working in the shop, I don't remember her name but she gave us great chat, and really made up for the fact we couldn't have a tour. I'll be back for a tour and top that star rating up then, I'm sure!

We visited this distillery before Bruiladdich as Aiden particularly likes this malt . Situated just outside Port Askaig overlooking Jura , it is beautifully scenic . It is a modern distillery rebuilt completely and owned by Diageo. The tour is much the same as Talisker in Skye , same set up and company . Small shop , quite low in some stock but staff friendly and helpful . Free dram and glass at end of the tour which for 6 pounds is very reasonable . Tour itself was informative and helpful if you don't understand how malt whisky is made . Beautiful product , so smooth and sales increasing as a stand alone single malt . It is also used in Johnie Walker blend .It is bottled off site being transported to mainland by tanker but most of the other Islay distilleries do the same .There are 8 distilleries on the island , so much to see and do.

First off the boat and top of the line I first tasted Caol Ila on the ferry to Port Askaig, Islay. So I was extremely pleased to be able to tour the distillery before moving on to check into our BnB. This is a huge plant and makes both fine single malts and considerable amounts for blending elsewhere. Their cask tasting was a real pleasure, fun and informative. This is so very close to Port Askaig that it is very easy to reach. Recommended. This was also probably the best value in our distillery tours. They get the clear idea that it is not necessary to make a fat profit on tastings which may attract long term customers to a superb whisky.

We had a wonderfull stay and tour at the Caol Ila Distillery. The best thing about the distillery was JUSTINA! She was our tourguide and just incredible wonderfull. The four of us directly fell in love with her and her welcoming attitude. She showed us arround and afterwards we enjoyed a little tasting. It was absolutely refreshing to be welcomed as a guest and Justina is full of energy which started our passion for caol ila whisky, too. To be honest caol ila whisky was a bit treated as the black sheep from islay by our group. But the 18 year old was really tasty and we were even allowed to try the 30 yr old Caol Ila. Both wonderfull drams. The visit was topped by a double rainbow right over the sound of islay to the next island Jura. Our stay could not have been better, we will definitly come back in may and hope justina will be there, too!

Very good tour. If you join the free "The friends of the Classic Malts" the tour is free. Just have your book stamped. We joined at Lagavulin.

This loses one star only because it was closed for tours when we first went, on a normal weekday. The disappointing part being that it is a very hard place to get to - at the end of the road which stops at the ferry to Jura, there isn't anything else there! We had to go to the post office for a coffee and get the bus back again. When we finally got to visit, the tour was absolutely superb. The distillery itself is magnificent and a brilliant example of how scotch can be made. On a lot of the tour, one can look out of the enormous panoramic windows to the Paps of Jura - a truly wonderful site. The bottle of whisky I brought back from here was my favourite whisky of all time! It was extremely expensive (to me) as it was almost £30 and was a 35cl bottle - half size to those who aren't sure! But the whisky was almost clear and as smooth as silk - unfortunately, that meant that it went down the throat a little too easily! The name Caol Ila literally means the strait of Islay - pronounced eela in Gaelic.

Unfortunately the distillery was under maintenance while we were on the island so we couldn't get a tour but ended up with a Master Class on Scotch. Nigel hosted us to an hour and a half open discussion on the distillation processes at Caol Ila in a fantastic board room where as we talked and questioned we sampled six lovely Caol Ila whiskeys including some very limited editions. Nigel was very knowledgeable and a great host.