Caol Ila 2010/2026 - 15 y.o. - Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish #318381 (Berry Bros. & Rudd) - 50th Anniversary

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 56.6% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Distilled in 2010, this Caol Ila matured for a total of 15 years, initially in a hogshead and subsequently finished in an Oloroso sherry cask. Felix Dear selected cask 318381 for Berry Bros. & Rudd. Limited to 235 bottles, this single-cask release was created to mark Kirsch Import’s 50th anniversary and bottled in 2026 at 56.6%. The whisky is non-chill-filtered and contains no added colouring.

Dark fruit, toasted nuts and fudge form the sweet sherry side of this release. They are balanced by robust, earthy peat smoke and dry tannins, while ash, walnut shells and dried fruit emerge in the long finish.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose initially foregrounds elegant sherry notes of dark fruit, toasted nuts and buttery fudge, while a delicate veil of peat remains in the background.
• Palate: The whisky is powerful and dry on the palate. Earthy peat smoke and dry tannins provide structure, accompanied by dried fruit and spicy oak.
• Finish: The finish is long and slightly ashy, leaving walnut shells, dried fruit and gentle spice behind.

Distillery/Bottler:

Caol Ila has been based on Islay since 1846. The distillery stands near Port Askaig on the Sound of Islay, looking across the strait towards Jura; fittingly, its Gaelic name means “Sound of Islay”. It produces both unpeated and peated single malt. In this release, the peated style and its earthy smoke clearly shape the character.

Founded in 1698, Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant. The family-owned company continues to operate from No. 3 St James’s Street in London, and its oldest surviving bottling from its own Scotch casks dates from 1853. For this anniversary edition, Felix Dear selected the Caol Ila single cask, which Berry Bros. & Rudd subsequently bottled.

Facts: