Distillery:	Caol Ila	Region:	Islay
Established:	1846	Status:	Active
Proprietor	Diageo
Stills:	3 wash stills, 3 spirit stills	Capacity:	3,600,000 litres of alcohol per year
Open To Visitors:	Tours by appointment only	Contact :	Caol Ila Distillery Port Askaig Isle of Islay PA46 7RL
Facilities:	Gift shop, Great view of the Sound of Islay from the stillhouse, Tastings
Water Source:	Loch Nam Bam

The name, Coal Ila is Gaelic for the “Sound of Islay”, which separates the island from the island of Jura. The distillery is situated in a remote cove near Port Askaig on the isle of Islay, a spot originally chosen in 1846 by Hector Henderson, partly because of the clean water from Loch Nam Bam, which still provides its main supply. In the early 1970’s all the distillery buildings apart from the warehouses were demolished and rebuilt, including the installation of six new stills. The Pibroch, a small steamboat sits in the pier at the front of the distillery. Until 1972 it was used to deliver barley, empty casks and coal to the distilleries pier, returning to Glasgow with filled casks of whisky.