Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 57%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, ex-Wine
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 90.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Vote: 89/100
As has been the case since 2014, Kilchoman’s pickup will travel across much of the old continent for the Kilchoman European Tour, touching down in twenty different states in ten weeks, closing its run on Islay in conjunction with the Fèis Ìle at the end of May.
Unlike last year, the bottling taken around Europe is not an exclusive edition for the event but a new addition to the core range, which saw its official launch on this tour: Batch Strength.
Created in response to the great demand for a fixed, cask strength bottling, it is actually a slightly diluted edition to give consistency to the label, with triple ageing: 70% ex-bourbon casks, 10% ex-oloroso sherry and 20% re-charred ex-Portuguese red wine casks.
The one tasted is the ‘Tour Edition’, identical in every way to the definitive version.
Tasting notes
In its intentions, it is a ‘colossal’ whisky like the bull that represents it in the promos, and at least on the nose the peat thrust is indeed intense but not overwhelming, thanks also to the alcohol well integrated in the aromas. Lots of peat then, earthy and brackish, extracting the notes of grilled meat and barbecue sauce soaked in brine and roasted vegetable notes, flanking them with fruit (apricot, citrus, raspberry), lemon peel, nutmeg and Catalan cream. A little closed, probably because it has only been in the bottle for a month.
On the palate, it is the distillate that leads the way, with the personality of the new make emerging among the peat fumes with pear and the vegetable and iodine part, elevated by spices (plenty of pepper with nutmeg and a touch of ginger), stone fruit (apricots, plums, cherries), candied lemon, vanilla and nuts. Toasted notes run through the flavours, declining between wood and vegetable, in a full, creamy body. In length, the coastal part grows with oysters and seawater.
The finish is long and spicy, with lots of sea trapped in the mellow smoke of peat, nuts, toasted wood and citrus.
The challenge of high alcohol content is fully met, with an excellent balance between distillate and casks that are able to enhance their respective qualities without overflowing. Allowing time in the bottle can only be beneficial to a rich, full-bodied whisky, capable of bringing out all the qualities of Kilchoman when fully expressed.