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: € 100.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
The series returns entirely to ex bourbon maturation, like the one from two years ago, for the 2025 edition of the whisky from Kilchoman made from barley entirely grown in their fields.
Harvested in 2014 and 2015 from the Concerto and Publican varieties, this nine-year-old has matured in 54 ex-bourbon barrels and was released at the beginning of September, following another 100% island release for the Féis and a subsequent special edition entirely in sherry that came out a month later, soon to appear on these pages.
Tasting Notes
Burnt herbs and lemon peel are the first evocations to the nose, with a consistent mineral and iodine vein threading through the nostrils, bringing the distillery markers to the forefront. Toasted pecans and maple syrup lead towards the pastry side of a puff pastry braid, with a light sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon, introducing notes of cooked apple, grilled pineapple, sweet licorice, and toasted wood in the second row. In length, the peaty aspect tends towards extinguished cigarette smoke while the sweet notes become more pronounced. Pleasantly balanced and compact.
Black pepper and ginger open the palate, leading with a mild creaminess towards candied fruits (pineapple, orange, lemon), lemon curd, shortbread, anise, and vegetal peat smoke, rediscovering the burnt grass of the olfactory senses with some aromatic pretensions (thyme). It plays on sweet and bitter contrasts, with licorice root, cinchona, orange peel, and sesame playing hide and seek with the sweetness, narrowly winning over the long term alongside a substantial saline and iodized component that beckons the sip.
The finale is quite long and salty, with hints of citrus, baked cream, toasted nuts, licorice, burnt herbs, spices, and a spent cigarette.
Review: Reinforces the consistency of 100% Islay, even mundane in its coherence, finding in the maturation entirely in ex-bourbon the quintessence of the distillery. A smooth and satisfying drink, lacking the flashes of excellence that might have been found in earlier (and younger) editions, but with a solidity that few others can guarantee.
Vote: 87/100