Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 90.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Vote: 91/100
And just like that, the thirteenth edition of what is probably the farm distillery’s most prized bottling has arrived, made entirely from their own barley in what is a marked path towards increasing independence, especially now that Port Ellen malt has become off limits.
Forty-four barrels ex bourbon only (as it hasn’t been since 2019), minimum eight years of maturation from the harvest of three vintages, 2012, 2013 and 2014, Publican variety, 20,000 bottles and 20ppm of peat.
Enough numbers, let’s drink!
Tasting notes
How beautiful is the maturation all in ex-bourbon, which on the nose releases a fresh delicacy of cereals, hay, eucalyptus honey, marzipan and ginger biscuits, slight citrus notes and peat expressed in a subtle substrate of mineral smoke, transporting you to a delightful spring morning. Over time, the citrus becomes candied (cedar) with a greater incidence of pastry notes, and a slight sea breeze caresses the nostrils.
In the mouth, the smoke takes on more body, toasting some fruit (pineapple, pear, peach, lychee) and pastry, bringing citrus fruit (lemon, first and foremost) back to the centre, and with a not too heavy spice (ginger, pepper). Earl Grey tea, apple chips and (very) salted caramel complete the picture, which maintains the frame of freshness with a balsamic intrusion with menthol traits.
Long finish that leaves the lips salty and the palate with delicate smoke, fruit (peach and pineapple mainly), lemon, cereals, menthol notes and cream tart.
I confess, I have a soft spot for Kilchoman in ex-Bourbon (team Machir Bay), and this 100% perfectly embodies how much the distillate can be enhanced by this maturation: fresh, full, delicate but not ethereal, perfect.