It was founded in 1846 by Hector Henderson and although it has changed several owners ever since, the distillery has the remarkable fact that it’s active and producing since its founding.

The only occasion that production came to a halt was during World War II because of regulations in the use of barley. The run of changes in ownership would start in 1854 when it was first sold and then again in 1863 when Bullach Lade & Co seized control.

During 1920 Bullach Lade & Co started selling shares, when a group of investors formed the Caol Ila Distillery Company Ltd and gained control, until 1930 when Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd acquired full ownership.

In order to keep up with the demand of the whisky produced as a key ingredient in blends and the needs of expansion and modernisation, the distillery was demolished and rebuilt in 1972.

The expansion included the addition of four new stills that made Caol Ila distillery the leader in quantity in spirit production in the isle of Islay. The distillery is now owned by Diageo from 1999