Lagavulin and Caol Ila Launch Limited Edition 2021 Fèis Ìle Whiskies

Lagavulin and Caol Ila Distilleries have launched their festival exclusive single malt scotch whiskies to celebrate the 2021 Islay Festival of Music and Malt, Fèis Ìle. Hand-selected by the distillery teams, the Lagavulin and Caol Ila Fèis Ìle whiskies have long been popular, and their annual release for the Fèis Ìle festival is much looked forward to. Each represents a precious part of the distillery’s rich heritage, offering whisky fans an interesting new angle on the core expressions available at Lagavulin and Caol Ila.

Lagavulin Fèis Ìle 2021 – 13 Year Old 

Fèis Ìle Lagavulin 13 Year-Old has been matured in refill American Oak casks and finished in high char Port-seasoned casks. The limited edition run of 6,000 bottles will be released with an ABV of 54.4%, and a retail price of £160 per 700ml. It is a unique whisky with a rewarding and unusual mix of richness, spice, and sweetness. This full bodied Islay whisky has sweet aromas of candied chestnuts combined with oily mineral tones. The tones are intensified with a thick and oil-smooth texture. It is sweet then piquant with spice that quickly rises in importance as rich waves of smoke, salt and hot pepper take over. Noticeably palate-drying, this superb Lagavulin has a long and intense finish with a pepper-spice warmth and delicious nutty and smoky aftertaste. Ideal to be savoured at natural strength or with a splash of Uisge Source Islay spring water.

Pierrick Guilaume, Lagavulin Distillery Manager said: “Fèis Ìle is an incredible week for the island each year, allowing us to welcome whisky and music lovers around the globe to the island we’re so proud to call home. While our celebrations at Lagavulin Distillery are slightly different this year, we still have a fabulous line up planned who will treat online guests to some of Scotland’s best music and entertainment, as well as an incredible bottling which will excite fans of Lagavulin and the festival.”

Caol Ila Fèis Ìle 2021 – 12 Year Old

Caol Ila Fèis Ìle 2021 whisky has been matured in refill American-Oak and finished in high char Moscatel-seasoned casks. Fèis Ìle Caol Ila 12 Year Old is bottled at 56.6% ABV, with only 3,000 bottles available. It will retail from £130 per 700ml. Vigorous and spicy, this Islay whisky carries intense fruit notes and unusual floral traits from the nose to the finish. This rare release opens on the nose with a light green, faintly herbal top note, followed by lush scented fruit of sweet grapes and ripe peach. At natural strength, this luscious malt has a creamy-smooth texture intensely sweet to begin but quickly balanced with tones of pepper spice, a hint of salt and more rich fruit to develop a racy and embracing warmth. The finish is elegantly long with tangy and drying notes, leaving a lovely smoky aftertaste.

Samuel Hale, Caol Ila Distillery Manager said: “This will be my first festival as distillery manager of Caol Ila and although we are unable to host the event in Islay, we wanted to continue to honour the occasion with not only a wonderful online event but also by creating a remarkable bottling. We’re sure it’s going to be extremely popular with Caol Ila fans.”

If you’d like to buy either of these limited edition whiskies then they’ll be available to purchase on malts.com from 1 June.