Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon, finished in ex-Sauternes Wine
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 82.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Vote: 87/100
On 1 October 2018, in the midst of the growth of Islay’s new star, Kilchoman launches another limited version (10,000 pieces), the result of combining thirty ex-Bourbon casks filled in 2012 whose distillate then spent five months in ex-French wine casks before ending up in the bottle.
Starting in 2012, Kilchoman has been producing whiskies aged entirely in former wine casks, such as Port, Madeira and Sauternes, while this edition aims to show, in the intentions of founder Anthony Willis, a more measured approach to this type of maturation.
Will this really be the case?
Tasting notes
Full gold in the glass.
A good dose of smoky, salty peat greets the nose, softened by notes of peach, orange, vanilla, paraffin, honey, liquorice, lemon drop. Pleasant but not very particular profile.
Entrance to the palate punctuated by pepper (a lot) and ginger, dragged on a marine wave with pineapple, candied orange, chinotto, licorice, anise and cinnamon. The spices grow with time, with cumin and coriander well present on an earthy impression and a slightly rough touch of leather.
The finish is quite long and savoury of ash, leather, orange and pepper.
If at first glance it doesn’t seem to promise much, on the palate it knows how to make itself respected, albeit with a few flaws, offering an experience that is not exactly complacent, to which you have to surrender yourself in order to appreciate it. The influence of the wine doesn’t seem to have weighed too heavily, whether this is good or bad is up to each person to decide for themselves.
Reviews of Kilchoman whisky in the blog
Other perspectives:
Whiskey Apostle