Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Cognac
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 100.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Vote: 84/100
Kilchoman is certainly no stranger to experimenting with casks, and the different (and numerous) limited editions produced each year are there to prove it.
For this 2023, the debut of differentiated maturation is led by two special editions: the Sherry Fino Cask Matured, the result of the union of 20 butts from the Spanish bodega Jose y Miguel Martin matured between five and seven years, and this Cognac Cask Matured, a brand new version for the distillery.
Completely aged in 32 casks that contained the French distillate from Tonellerie Bossuet (in turn sourced from an undisclosed single distillery), vatted in March this year after at least six years of maturation, in 15,100 bottles with distillate made from Port Ellen malt.
Tasting notes
A nose where fruit leads the way, with the freshness of pear, apple, pineapple and a touch of currant mitigating the intensity of peat in its earthy minerality. Peeled almonds, caramel, cinnamon, citrus brush strokes and a slightly lactic trail in the background complete a rather simple and straightforward picture, in which smoke is a generous co-star.
The palate begins with a lively spiciness (pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg) that echoes the fruit in a greater inclination towards citrus and apple, with a bitter, vegetal vein that expresses itself above all in length. Toasted nuts and wood, slight balsamic touch, with smoke acting as a frame, certainly not shy but not invasive either.
The finish is quite long and balsamic, spicy, with vegetal notes, nuts, ashes and white fruit.
The marriage between Kilchoman and cognac works, but it is a posed, calm, serene relationship, without flashes or twists. The balances work, the dram is pleasant but not unforgettable. In short, it’s good. And that’s it.