Origin: Isle of slay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Sherry Oloroso Butt
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 79.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Vote: 88/100
After a long time, Kilchoman returns to these pages, and does so with an annual (not too) limited edition bottling of 15,500 bottles.
The result of the union of 20 casks (declared on the label, or 21 as indicated on the website) that contained Oloroso Sherry, selected from different ages with fills from the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 (so let’s say a 9 year old), bottled in April 2020.
Born in 2013, the series has maintained consistency in gradation as well as maturation in former oloroso Sherry casks, with variations only on the type of cask.
Below is a list of all vintages:
2013 – butt ex-Sherry Oloroso and six week finish in Sherry hogshead, all from 2007, with 10,000 bottles produced;
2014 – butt ex-Sherry Oloroso, from 2009, with 17,000 bottles produced;
2015 – butt and hogshead ex-Sherry Oloroso, from 2010, with 10,000 bottles produced;
2016 – butt ex-Sherry Oloroso first fill and refill, from 2010, with 14,000 bottles produced;
2017 – butt ex-Sherry Oloroso, from 2009, with 13,500 bottles produced;
2018 – 19 butt ex-Sherry Oloroso, from 2007, 2008 and 2011, with 15,000 bottles produced;
2019 – butt ex-Sherry Oloroso, from 2006, 2009 and 2011, with 15,000 bottles produced;
2020 – 20 or 21 butt ex-Sherry Oloroso, from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, with 15,500 bottles produced.
Note that until 2017 there was edition numbering (reaching the fifth), which was then abandoned in 2018.
Tasting notes
Copper colour in the glass.
Barbecued ribs cooked on pine logs greet the nose, throwing copious slices of orange and chinotto on the grill as well. Sultanas, hazelnuts and vanilla berries scattered on top, a cloud of cinnamon and a few tufts of balsamic herbs. The chef was evidently smoking because some tobacco also arrives. A very pleasant and intriguing mix of meaty warmth and freshness.
Marine flavour at the mouth of the palate, where the meat grilled on the embers continues, immersed in citrus scents with balsamic tones. The sweeter side grows, with vanilla, toffee, ripe plums and alcoholic sultanas that round off the harshness of the peat, together with the biscuit-like breakfast cereal that softens the whole, managing to maintain a firm balance.
Long, ashy finish of wood, citrus and spice.
An uncommon balance of peat and delicacy that manages to be elegant and solid at the same time, a structured dram that manages to stay ‘easy’ despite the far from simple layering. Excellent.