Aug 2026In short · Caol Ila (Islay), 11 years, Smoky & Fruity.
“We prepared a dish of smoked salmon and sweet spicy shrimps on a bed of lamb’s lettuce, rocket salad, red onion and cabbage, which we served with grissini alle olive.…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
SMWS 53.532 is a single cask of Caol Ila, in the Islay region, 11 years old, bottled at 58.8%, released in the Aug 2026 Outturn. Every Society bottle numbered 53.x is from Caol Ila.
Specs, price and tasting-note extract from the SMWS. Full notes on smws.com.
Hidden in a cove above Port Askaig, gazing across the churning Sound of Islay to the Paps of Jura, Caol Ila (1846) is the island's largest distillery and the quiet engine-room of Johnnie Walker. On its own, though, it is a beauty: oily and cool, olive brine and lemon and a soft grey smoke. Diageo's.