It's been relatively quiet on this blog with announcing new whisky expressions but a new dawn has broken, literally. Why a new dawn? This spring sees a new expression of Caol Ila, the Islay distillery north of Port Askaig, founded in 1846 by hector Henderson. The new expression is called "Moch" which means Dawn in Gaelic. Islay’s east coast is the first on the island to see the dawn, just as it is the first - shielded by Cnoc Dubh, the Black Hill behind the distillery - to receive the night as the sun sinks in the Atlantic on the far side of the island. Caol Ila Moch Single Malt Scotch Whisky is the latest exciting addition to the Caol Ila family. It is the first single malt from the distillery to be selected entirely on the basis of its taste, rather than age, cask wood, strength or finish. And this one has been specially bottled just for the Friends of the Classic Malts.

This new bottling doesn't have an age statement and Billy Stitchell, long-time distillery manager at Caol Ila, says: “Moch is selected for taste rather than age, and you’ll still find it every inch a Caol Ila. It’s a new departure for us, to have a whisky that’s not defined by age or strength or finish, but by taste, and it’s an exciting development, I think.” And why ‘Moch’? Billy said: “I’m an early riser, so for me, a day starts just before dawn. But this place is full of atmosphere at all times of day. The western light is something special and this far north we get wonderful sunsets over the hills and especially, clear dawn light flooding across the Sound, which is what came to mind when we were looking for a name for Moch.“

I'm sometimes an early riser as well and I fully agree that the dawns at the Sound of Islay can be stunning, as you can see below

Dawn at the Sound of Islay

Tag: caol ila dawn sound of islay whisky distillery