Origin: Isle of slay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 56.1%ABV
Ageing cask: STR finished in new cask
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 119.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Third exclusive bottling for Whisky Club Italia produced by Kilchoman, which this time features a decidedly different ageing process than usual. After spending five years in an STR hogshead cask (i.e. an ex-wine cask treated with the special procedure invented by Jim Swan), the 2018 distillate was transferred to a new cask made from wood sourced from the Carpathian region of Eastern Europe.
A total of seven years of maturation, cask strength, 50ppm of peat and 281 bottles filled in March 2025 as part of the club’s tenth anniversary celebrations.
Tasting Notes
The nose is a blend of rich and sweet notes, like standing in front of a steaming baking tray with a roll of roast pork cooked with plums, dried apricots, hazelnuts and brushed with teriyaki sauce. Fruit is a pillar of the aromas, including fresh blackberries, pineapple in syrup and dried pecans, with sweet liquorice, salted caramel, balsamic vinegar cream and a touch of Barbour jacket in the background. Intense and opulent.
The entry is dense on the palate, where not too pronounced spices (black pepper, nutmeg, ginger) are accompanied by aromatic herbs (rosemary, marjoram, dill) to frame a still dark heart, less meaty and more focused on the sweet notes of salted caramel, liquorice, dried dates, cola and the inevitable fruit, declined in red (including very ripe strawberry, almost like extra jam). More maritime than on the nose, especially on the back palate, while smoke decisively marks the finish. A slight balsamic note appears in the length.
In the finish, the smoke takes its revenge, filling the mouth and embracing the facets of the distillate, from spices to fruit to densely sweet parts with coastal and balsamic hints.
Review: Yet another demonstration of how Kilchoman performs better with short ageing, the new cask marries and enhances the traces left by the STR in an almost challenging umami drink, so full and full-bodied is it. Hats off to those who created it and those who chose it.
Vote: 89/100