Kilograms of Kilchoman


June 7, 2024

Feis Ile Special (sequel sessions)

Kilograms of Kilchoman

including some unusual ones

Just as we did last year around this time, we are going to sample a good number of Kilchomans. We have a great affection for Kilchoman. We attended the inauguration of the distillery with the Malt Maniacs, and it was a grand event! I also had the pleasure of later having a long conversation with the much-missed John Maclellan when he became the manager there. So, let's have some Kilchoman in his memory. We recently tasted some Bunnahabhain (John had previously managed Bunnahabhain). Remember that whisky is entirely about people; otherwise, it's just some barley costing a few pennies, a bit of water, yeast, and a bit of oak wood. And wine, increasingly so. What? Yes, and time, the fifth element. Let's proceed at random...

In 2006 Kilchoman's kiln caught fire. The owners then added a sign on top, saying "… the really smoky firey one…" (WF Archive, 2006)

Kilchoman 'Small Batch' (48.6%, OB, French Exclusive, LMDW, STR bourbon sherry)

Kilchoman 'Triskele Small Batch' (48.6%, OB, French Exclusive, LMDW, STR bourbon sherry)

These damn STR casks are taking over everything… Colour: white wine. Nose: let's be honest, the STR remains discreet. Here is a lovely, rich peat, almost as if the barley had been partially smoked with herbs. Or at least with very young peat. There are notes of patchouli, potpourri, hints of tomato leaves (that could be the STR) and hay. It really feels like the countryside. Mouth: this sweet, almost liqueur-like quality is quite typical. Peat liqueur, now that's an amusing concept. There's brioche dough, a freshly baked orange cake, butterscotch, fresh coriander and sorrel, and always that sweet peat sometimes found in Lagavulin. Finish: long and more honeyed. Peppery oysters in the finish. Comments: a devilish profile, if you will. I just read that there's 20% STR casks, based on Portuguese red wine barrels. No idea if it was Port.
SGP:666 - 86 points.

B2B…

Kilchoman 11 yo 2011/2023 (54.5%, OB, London Whisky Show 2023, bourbon, cask #771)

B2B, that means back to bourbon. Colour: white wine. Nose: very pure. 4-oils and ashy peat, plus dandelions, flower and leaf. Can you say millimetric when it's a bottling for the UK? With water: porridge, new jumper, ashes, brake pads, paraffin. Mouth (neat): again this slight sweetness but this time we're all about grapefruit and green apple. A touch of bitter almond. With water: very good, fresh, precise, with a bit of rubber and wheat beer. Finish: increasingly focused on its origin, beer, ground barley, yeast… It's quite amusing this kind of regression in terms of flavours. Comments: really very amusing, and also excellent. It reminds me, in some ways, of the effect Ardbeg Ten has on me, though in a different style.
SGP:656 - 88 points.

Kilchoman 12 yo 2011/2023 '100% Islay Still Peat' (53.5%, OB, LMDW, barrel, cask #411)

They played it rather 'Byzantine' this time, distilling unpeated low wines together with heads and tails from a previous peaty distillation. According to our friends at LMDW, this should 'highlight the altruistic character of a discreet peat'. Which, in trivial un-Parisian street language, may mean that peat will always keep the upper hand, whichever the circumstances. Colour: white wine. Nose: this reminds me a bit of the Longrow batches from Springbank. Honestly, it feels like we're in the Wee Toon. Shoe polish, damp earth, dead leaves, watercress, and again, patchouli. With water: wet chalk and the proverbial virgin wool. Nothing to complain about. Mouth (neat): excellent! Very powerful citrus, fairly robust peat nonetheless, old medicinal syrups, earthy side… I won't hesitate to mention Campbeltown once more. With water: same, same. Magnificent juice. Finish: long, precise, lemony and very waxy. Bitter almonds in the aftertaste. Comments: could anyone tell me if they have ever spotted a fully loaded tanker lorry arriving at Kennacraig from the south of the peninsula and discreetly taking the ferry to Islay?
SGP:564 - 90 points.

Since we are tasting the unusual…

Kilchoman 8 yo 2015/2023 '100% Islay Fermentation Variation 100H' (57.9%, OB, LMDW, New Vibrations, bourbon, cask #36)

So, longer fermentation of almost a work week, almost like the fermentation time of a Jamaican rum, though let's not forget that the latter can go up to three weeks. But I digress… Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: crystal clear at first, then tarry. New tyres, Tesla battery (pre-explosion), new rubber boots, turpentine, exhaust fumes (not from a Tesla, obviously)… With water: fresh concrete, cut grass, plaster and heaps of ashes. Mouth (neat): simply perfect, though it's far from delicate. Pepper, peat, lemon, carbon. With water: …and hints of mint and, once again, verbena. Finish: long, pure, on lemon and various hydrocarbons. One can't imagine there were lemon trees when the peat used here was formed, can one? Comments: a grand Kilchoman. Quite frankly, it's expensive, but I believe it's worth it.
SGP:567 - 90 points.

Kilchoman 16 yo (50%, OB, 2023)

Can you believe it, sixteen years already, and even more! This is a combination of oloroso sherry butts and bourbon. Quite classic, really. Let's hope the freshness hasn't been lost (S., you have to decide, do you want age or not?) Colour: deep gold. Nose: we know these batches, we know they were well peated, so we are quite surprised to discover such a soft, civilized Kilchoman, leaning towards mint, chocolate, smoked ham, crème caramel, and old white Burgundy… With water: I'll be honest, I know comparisons are not always reasonable, but this time I would have said a Port Ellen of a similar age and reduction. Off the top of my head. Mouth (neat): it feels like a slightly accelerated ageing, it could really be a 25-year-old from a southern Islay distillery. Which means it's very good, just slightly disconcerting. Maybe because of the reduction? A smoky and lemony caramel side, followed by tar, raw ham, and smoked bacon. With water: same, that 'PE' side comes out after reduction. Finish: long, graceful, and very beautiful. Comments: it's going to be quite a challenge to compare all the Islay distilleries at a similar age and in their peated versions (I say this for those from the east). Vishnu, help us! Meanwhile, this K. is really very, very beautiful, all things considered.
SGP:656 - 90 points.

One day, we'll be considered mad with all these acronyms and abbreviations, PE, K, CI, Laph, Bowie, Bunny, Laddie, Laga… What, you say we're already considered mad? You, not me!

And how about tasting some older ones that are therefore younger?

Kilchoman 2010/2014 'The Kilchoman Club 3rd Edition' (58.4%, OB, Madeira, casks 65+66, 600 bottles)

This one is really very young, and what's more, Madeira usually has a very strong impact. Colour: gold. Nose: it's pleasant, rounder, with pecan pie, fig jam, sweet mustard, then seawater, peppered whelks, sweet wine, earth, bay leaves, leather… And of course, the smoke from peat. With water: it becomes a bit vinegary and compost-like. A hint of horse dung. Mouth (neat): too dominated by the cask and its previous contents for me. Far too much. Loads of raisins and pepper. Another proof that Consumer Clubs can sometimes be a rip-off (stay polite, S.!). Hey not saying this one was, naturally, everyone's failing with a least one bottling. With water: it's okay, but it's dissonant. Ozzy doing Bach or the Osmonds playing Sun Ra. Finish: long, peppery, and heavily on raisins. Comments: not really my thing this time.
SGP:667 - 75 points.

Kilchoman 2011/2016 (59.5%, OB for LMDW 60th Anniversary, Caroni finish, cask #754, 264 bottles)

I'm not sure Kilchoman needs rum, but Caroni often works, so let's see… Colour: vin blanc. Nose: surprisingly, the rum remains discreet, so it's alright; it seems to have softened the very young Islay a bit. Vanilla and gentle peat, apples, sunflower oil, green pepper. With water: not too chimerical. Mouth (neat): it's good, the powerful side of Caroni somewhat amplifies the strength of Kilchoman, but the sweetness is also heightened. Not too sure… With water: it's not bad at all but, of course, when you've just tasted some natural and flamboyant Kilchomans, it does suffer by comparison. Finish: long, peppery. Slightly unexpected notes of pear—could that be the combination? Comments: I'm not entirely sure these mixes are useful, even with very young malts like this one. But it's still not bad at all.
SGP:656 - 81 points.

Kilchoman 'Triskele Casks - French Exclusive' (47.8%, OB, LMDW, Port bourbon sherry, 1,260 bottles, 2023)

20% Port casks, that's manageable. Why Triskele/Triskell/Triskel? I'm not entirely sure. Some stories about trinity and Celtic culture, I think. Colour: straw. Nose: truth be told, we love Port, and if it adds just a few notes of black cherry and blackberry, we bow to it. That's somewhat the case here; it remains a maritime, peaty, fresh and taut Kilchoman, with dough and ashes. And smoked clafoutis. Mouth: very good! A bit sweet, with more cherries of all kinds, but on a solid smoky and salty base. Finish: long, balanced, peaty, peppery and maritime. The cherries have been well-behaved. Comments: I believe our Scottish friends are mastering wine casks better and better. That's good timing, as there are more and more winemakers who own or are buying stills and starting to make whisky. All of this is going to end in a delightful mess, but we're going to have a lot of fun. In any case, this Kilchoman is very good.
SGP:667 - 86 points.

B2B…

Kilchoman 12 yo 2010/2023 '100% Islay Kiln Peat' (54.4%, OB, LMDW, bourbon barrel, cask #705)

Fully made out of local barley from their own farm, called Rockside. Colour: deep gold. Nose: raw tarry peat and banana cake, plus crushed slate and diesel oil. Whiffs of cress soup in the background, which I just adore. With water: fresh grass, green tea, banana skins, oysters, tyres and new Wellies. Mouth (neat): no words needed; this is perfect. With water: something tropical, like whacky guavas, perhaps tinned rambutans. Not too sure where this fruity sweetness is coming from, but it is charming. Finish: long, clean sweet, a little oily. Comments: excellent if a tad 'bourbony' and sweetish. We're just waiting for a proper 'dry' refill hogshead of good age. Next year?
SGP:656 - 88 points.

Last one… (LMDW really like and know their Kilchoman)…

Kilchoman 8 yo 2014/2023 '100% Islay Fermentation' (55%, OB, LMDW, bourbon barrel, cask #321)

Why this name, I don't quite know. Do they also 'ferment' elsewhere? Or is it fully indigenous yeast? It must be complicated because commercial yeasts are quite effective at killing all other yeasts in the building. It's said that managing yeasts of very different strengths in the same place is very tricky, but to be honest, we don't know much about yeasts (so please shut up, S.). Colour: White wine. Nose: precise, on porridge and ashes, then green bananas and orchard apples. Morning baguettes. With water: pear and apple skins, a bit of ink, magazines… Mouth (neat): very good, just a bit hot, sweet, and alcoholic. Barley syrup and wood ashes. With water: the fruits arrive in a cavalry. Melons, apricots, papayas, a bit of honey, barley and agave syrups… Could it be the yeasts that have generated these slightly unusual fruity notes? In theory, yes. Finish: long, quite gentle, fruity, slightly honeyed. Baked apple. Comments: really good, but softer. It's as if these yeasts have tamed the peat that used to envelope the malted barley.
SGP:655 - 85 points.

Check the index of all Kilchoman we've tasted so far