Concluding the Kilchoman Cluster

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Seventeen Kilchomans, all with scores between 81 and 89, have been ingested, each compelling me to regurgitate words about them. That narrow range of scores may disappoint some and bore others, but there are plenty of tales beyond the scores. Of course there are! Blog content!

CASKS

As you may have noticed, there were no alternative casks included among these reviews. No STR, madeira or mezcal(?!) casks. Just bourbon and/or sherry casks, or no cask at all. I wanted to get down to the bones of the Kilchoman spirit and see how it moved across an extended sample size. There were pros and cons to my whisky selection:

Pros:
--A lot of Kilchoman.
--No hyperactive American oak.

Cons:
--Not enough sherry cask Kilchoman (with the Machir Bays showing nearly no sherry influence).
--A lot of repetition between all the bourbon cask babies.

I didn't realize the sherry cask issue until I got to the end of the seven Machir Bays. It was later painfully confirmed when I tried the two very good sherry cask whiskies side-by-side.

BARLEY

Some of my crunchier hipster readers may have wanted more 100% Islays in the mix, and that's valid. That Islay barley makes up 25% of the malt used for Kilchoman's products, so perhaps I should have had 4¼ 100% Islays out of the 17 selections. The reason for falling 1¼ short is because those annual batches remain (for me) the wobbliest portion the distillery's releases. It was difficult for me to summon the interest to get a sample of just one of the batches.

What did interest me about the two different spirits was that the 100% Islay whiskies took to dilution very well (3-for-3), while the Port Ellen Maltings (PEM) spirit did not. Only the two oldest of the fourteen PEM whiskies didn't crumble under slight dilution, and none of them improved when reduced. Could the Islay barley's spirit be sturdier earlier than that of the PEM? It makes one wonder how this will play out over the next decade.

HAPPY

Within the small band of scores — 81 to 89, or B- to B+ — were some positive surprises. The stellar PEM new make spirit demonstrated how Kilchoman gets off to a solid start even before barreling their spirit. My early Kilchoman adoration was validated by the 2013 Machir Bay bottling, as it firmly swatted my bottle of an 2018 release. The two whiskies with the highest scores were the two I am lusting after, the first Machir Bay CS and the 2020 Loch Gorm. One shows off the quality of the past, the other offers some hope about the future.

THE WHOLE PAST AND FUTURE THING

In this cluster's introduction, I wondered if the Kilchoman whisky we were enjoying from 2010-2014 was, in its youth, only hinting at the distillery's potential or if we were already seeing the peak. I truly hoped it was not the latter. But after 17 pours, I'm not convinced their whiskies have improved significantly despite higher age statements and seven more years of production experience.

The 2013 Machir Bay read older and more complex than its elder sibling, the 2018. In fact I'm tired of my 2018 bottle, and it's still half full. The 2014 Machir Bay CS was an utter delight, while I may have been charitable in not giving the 2020 a grade in the 70s, as its cheap-tequila palate dragged it down. The 2010/2019 Vintage had a disappointingly flat palate that read less mature than the 2008/2015 Vintage. As with the 2020 Machir Bay CS, the 2010/2019 Vintage was saved only by its nose. How much longer will that be enough?

Some hope does appear for the distillery's present and future whiskies. They DO have a legitimate and unique 14 year old whisky. And their Loch Gorm is getting better, developing into one of the best standard sherry cask releases on the island. Add in the gradual growth of the 100% Islay releases, and the distillery does have a framework for their future.

It's possible the bourbon cask PEM whiskies present the weakest link in this series. Seeing the decline in Ardbeg Ten — which uses the same PEM specs — in my big 2017 Taste Off makes me wonder if the two circumstances are related.

WHAT NEXT?

In 2019, Kilchoman Distillery expanded its facilities so that they could double their production. Taken out of context it already looks significant. But consider this: Their capacity was 110,000 liters in 2011; it is now 500,000 liters in 2021. That level of success and commitment means one of two things. Either the Willses are in the game for the long haul, with a standard 10-12 year old queued up for the 2030s, or they're getting the distillery in order for a massive payday from a multinational conglomerate. Either way, what's the price on that 12 year old going to be?

That's not just an idle, snarky question. I honestly don't know if I'll still be wacky for whisky in ten years, but I will be mindful of money. After this cluster, I have no interest in chasing down the next Vintage, 100% Islay, any single cask, nor even another Machir Bay. Perhaps I'll go after a Loch Gorm, especially if The Tariff vaporizes for good. But I'm going to leave the Kilchoman fanperson-ism for the new breed of whisky consumers. Cynicism hasn't yet touched their wallets.

Kilchoman 14 year old 2006, cask 18 for Impex Beverages

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

We have indeed reached the day where there are FOURTEEN YEAR OLD KILCHOMANS. Impex Beverages Inc stuck their American meathooks into this 14 year old first-fill bourbon cask and hauled it to The States. It was, at the time of bottling, the oldest Kilchoman yet. (The Wills family have released one older cask since then.) That this was the 32nd cask Kilchoman ever filled, and was done so in April 2006, shows that production was slow going in 2005 and early 2006. With its solid outturn of 208 bottles and an ABV of 53%, the cask may have sacrificed only alcohol content to the angels. I've nothing else to add other than I don't know what to expect.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: 14 years (12 Apr 2006 - 12 May 2020)

Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Cask #: 18/2006

Outturn: 208 bottles

Exclusive to: Impex Beverages Inc

Alcohol by Volume: 53%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a bottle split)

I have never gotten an Nutella note from a bourbon cask whisky, until now. Yes, the nose has a bundle of other nuts, like walnuts and pistachios, but Nutella sits up front. There are also dried apricots, green grapes, sesame oil and a little bit of honey. This is all very Mediterranean. Except perhaps for the Play-Doh note in the midground. Apples and honey take over when the whisky is reduced to 46%abv. Hints of sesame and nuts remain. A sort of a Korbel brandy note sits in the middle, along with a hint of sharp cheddar.

The palate reminds me of a ultra-minerally white wine, with an almost chalky terroir note. Fascinating. Bits of grapefruit here and there, backed by fruity and bitter smokes. Caramel chews in the background. Diluting the whisky to 46%abv makes it feel younger. There's more bitterness, smoke and cinnamon. Then a good dose of honey and a hint of Play-Doh.

It finishes with limes and minerals and minerals and limes. Just a smidge of smoke, a peppery smoke like a big Talisker. The diluted-to-46%abv finish nearly matches the palate, but improves on it with a better sweetness.

I've never had a whisky quite like this. And since there's a dearth of reviews of it online, I'm not sure if anyone else is in the same spot. The "Mediterranean" style of the neat nose works very well, while the neat palate makes this feel like the first-ever Kilchoman for summer weather. The diluted nose actually works, while the diluted palate doesn't, but that's not surprising considering the findings during this cluster. The solid quality (though not the style) reminds me of first release of Kilkerran 12yo. It may not top all of its younger siblings, but it has its own confident approach that should be taken seriously by fans and competitors.

I wouldn't have minded digging into a full bottle, but the price was beyond what I'd consider reasonable for 14 year old whisky. Yes, it's a "historical" bottling. But every year will bring at least another "historical" bottling, and thus the quotation marks will always remain.

Availability - Sold out, or mostly so
Pricing - $200-$240
Rating - 87

Kilchoman Summer 2010 Release (a re-review)

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I reviewed this whisky many years ago and gave it a score of 92.

Yeah, I know.

Perhaps I was in Jim Murray Mode, handing out 92s for a good (rather than stupendous) whisky. But had I really been in 100% Murray Mode then I would have compared the whisky to the fanny of an ex-girlfriend that I never really had. But I didn't do that. Because I'm not disgusting.

Not lately.

My point is, I needed to try this whisky again. Things have changed a bit in the NINE years since that review (good luck finding it!). While I wrote the earlier post in a whisky bar, today's review plays out in a neutral setting, my sanitized padded cell.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: Three years (2007-2010)

Maturation: bourbon barrels
Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Outturn: 17,500 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a bottle split)

The nose is great! It starts off with bonfire smoke, dark chocolate, roasted pecans and tennis ball fuzz. It develops a baked apple and cinnamon note with time, also picking up raspberry jam and grassy notes. Reduced to 40%abv, the nose still kinda works. Almonds, peanuts, soil, ocean water and smoke start it off. Then some body...erm, mustiness arises. From the whisky

Simpler than the nose, the palate leads with lots of hay and bitter herbs. That's followed by heavy smoke, wet wool and a sharp tartness. Once the whisky is diluted to 40%abv, one finds bitter cardboard boxes and okay we're done here.

It finishes with a good balance of cracked pepper, smoke, horseradish and tart limes. Once diluted to 40%abv, it's all bitter and burnt and a bad idea.

I can sort of sense what had once thrilled me about the whisky. It does smell delightful, and the palate punches in with an almost Octomore violence. So it's good, likely better than many of the 6-8 year old peated single casks being rolled out by the indies. It's also better than several of this cluster's older Kilchomans. But the palate is very one dimensional. That dimension is done well, but it needs friends and happy casks and time. It can still probably beat most of Islay's NAS releases, but that's no big feat. Also, it's shockingly awful with water.

Younger me had found fruitier things in the palate, and a less complex nose. Reading those old notes again makes me think I should have given it a 87 or 88, not a 92. Today, it'll get a very high score for a 3yo whisky, but not nearly as crazy enthusiastic as that earlier rating.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - It was $60ish upon its release
Rating - 84 (no water please)

Kilchoman Loch Gorm, 2020 Edition

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This cluster has included an extensive look at Kilchoman's Machir Bays, as well as a few Vintage releases and one standard 100% Islay edition. Now it's time for their other annual release, the all-sherry-cask Loch Gorm.

In 2015 I reviewed the 2013 and 2014 editions, liked them both, then never tried another edition. Those two batches were 5-6 years old. Years have passed, and now Loch Gorm is older. The 2020 edition is 9 years old but also has 11-13 year old casks in the mix. The cynical of us would say, "Meh, there's probably one cask of each at most in the mix." Even so, there are only 21 casks in the vatting, so that older content is not insignificant. And I am thankful the Willses did not choose turn those 3+ casks into $300+ single sherry butt releases.

To gain some perspective, I tried this whisky alongside Friday's single sherry hogshead.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: Nine years (2011 - 2020), with 2009, 2008 and 2007 stuff added to the mix

Maturation: 21 Oloroso Sherry butts
Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Outturn: 15,500 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a purchased sample)

Right from the nose reads older than any of the previous fourteen Kilchoman's from this cluster. The sherry merges with the peat very well. One can find walnuts, dried cherries, orange peel and just a touch of meatiness. Farmy peat and coastal peat meet and mix. Hints of dark chocolate, moss and golden raisins float through the background. The nose remains vibrant once the whisky is diluted to 40%abv. There are peated dried apricots and peated almond cookies. Briny shellfish. Very dark chocolate and toasted nuts.

The steady rumble of sooty peat doesn't smother the rest of the palate's characteristics. There are lots of roasted pecans and almonds. A balance of salt, pepper, sweetness and a bright coastal quality reads like the best batches of Talisker Distillers Edition, but louder. The palate maintains a good texture after it's reduced to 40%abv. Cloves, cardamom, molasses and dried apricots on top. Smoky residue in the middle. Minerals and oranges on the bottom.

Salt, soot and sweet are in balance again in the finish, with hints of limes, moss and dried cherries in the background. Reduced to 40%abv, the whisky's finish keeps the soot and sweet, while adding minerals and subtle bitterness.

I know I mentioned Talisker DE above, but what this really reminds me of are the better Ardbeg Uigeadail batches from recent years, once the Oogie lost its super-old-cask ingredients. It might even be better, though I would obviously require many full bottles to make a wise decision. Loch Gorm 2020 tops Friday's 100% Islay sherry hoggie because this whisky has the big spirit to stand up to the big casks. In fact, the bigger size of the butts (versus a smaller hogshead) may have helped ease any sherry violence. This is also the first of this cluster's PE malt Kilchomans that didn't fall apart with dilution.

This very very good whisky costs nearly twice as much as Uigeadail in the US. It's probably older than current Oog batches, and it has a limited outturn, and it has the benefit of not being owned by LVMH. Yet I still pause at spending $110+ for a 9 year old non-single-cask. We can't blame The Tariff for the pricing because the 2014 edition was already nearing $100. This pause will probably mean I'll miss out on a bottle. But I think about these things.

Availability - It's available in the US and Europe, but less so every week
Pricing - $100-$130 in the US, about $10 cheaper in Europe (for 50mL less booze)
Rating - 89

Kilchoman 7 year old 2011 100% Islay, cask 622 for ImpEx Beverages

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

The Whisky Advocate's blurb about this sherry hogshead release has a pair of interesting bites.

1.) Per WA, this whisky "uses only barley that was grown on the distillery’s farm". As of very recent scribblings by respected whisky sources, Kilchoman is using mostly their own barley. As of 2011, I'm pretty sure they were using much less than mostly. So I'm struggling to buy into that quote above. If you know more please feel free to share in the comments section below.

2.) Then there's this: "This single-cask expression is the first fully sherry-matured 100% Islay available in the U.S." I'm pretty sure K&L's cask 371/06 beat them to it by about seven years. But I dunno. Again, please prove me wrong in the comments below.

In any case, this marks the 14th Kilchoman in the cluster, yet only the first all-sherry version. Shame on me.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: 7 years (13 Oct 2011 - 20 May 2019)

Maturation: Sherry hogshead
Barley: ~20ppm, sourced from Kilchoman Farm

Cask #: 622/11

Outturn: 324 bottles

Exclusive to: Impex Beverages Inc 

Alcohol by Volume: 56.1%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a bottle split)

The mmmmmedicinal and mmmmmilk chocolate nose starts off just right. Then come the cherries, almond extract, roses and tar. Gradually, ocean and moss notes arrive, and the milk chocolate goes dark. The medicinal and coastal notes get pushed back once the whisky is reduced to 46%abv. Raisins, walnuts and plum wine come forward.

The palate starts with a good bitterness, lots of nuts and a hint of milk chocolate. Toffee pudding and tart limes. Just enough sweetness without getting silly. A lot of cask here, but good cask. A silky mouthfeel develops once the whisky is diluted to 46%abv, and the palate gets more heft to it than the diluted nose. More fruits (plums and grapefruits) and more tar, with a mild chocolate mint note.

It finishes with limes, heavy smoke and bitter liqueur. A little bit of cassia and a lot of sherry cask. It gets much sweeter once it's reduced to 46%abv with just a touch of bitterness and a lot of chocolate mint.

This is mostly cask, though I enjoyed it. Had there been a burlier spirit (like, say, Port Ellen's stuff) to stand up to the cask, this would have been a hell of a thing. It's a very contemporary whisky, appealing to the ever-growing consumer segment that buys whisky for its color. But even for a grump like me, it's a cask that's hard to hate and easy to like.

Availability - Perhaps a few bottles remain in the primary market
Pricing - $150+
Rating - 87

Kilchoman 9 year old 2008 100% Islay, cask 549 for K&L Wine Merchants

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On Monday, I reviewed a 50+ cask-sized batch of 9-ish year old 100% Islay Kilchoman single malt aged in former Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels.

Today, I'm reviewing a single cask of 9-ish year old 100% Islay Kilchoman single malt aged in a former Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel.

How about that for accidental coordination?

The two whiskies went head-to-head (so many hyphens today). Let's see who won...

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: 9 years (23 Oct 2008 - 27 June 2018)

Maturation: Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel
Barley: ~20ppm, sourced from Islay farms

Cask #: 549/2008

Outturn: 250 bottles (quite a productive barrel)

Exclusive to: K&L Wine Merchants

Alcohol by Volume: 54.8%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a bottle split)

The nose holds the great coastal beach (sand/ocean/seaweed) note while staying a good distance from the new make. Orange blossoms, lemon zest, apple skins and honeydew take turns in the foreground, while the mellow smoke remains in the background. When diluted to 50%abv, that coastal note shifts to dashi. The fruits recede while cinnamon ice cream and vanilla bean power roll forward.

The palate begins lean and savory, with hints of seaweed, peppercorns, bell peppers and bitter herbs. Minty sweetness and tart fruit arise after 20 minutes. Cinnamon and cracked pepper take over at the 30 minute mark. Dropping it to 50%abv gives it a boost, trimming down that raw edge, revealing a fragrant mix of cloves and mossy peat. Hints of salt and sugar linger below.

It finishes with a mix of bitterer, heavy smoke and rye white dog, gradually sweetening with time. Reduced to 50%abv, it has a cleaner bitterness, less smoke, less sugar, more sea salt.

Another 100% Islay that takes water well. If you're keeping score, that's 2-for-2 with the local malt, 0-for-11 with the PE malt. Though I prefer the fruity nose neat, the palate fills out (again seeming like it adds a couple years to itself) with that little bit of water. This (1 cask) topped the 9th Edition (50+ casks), reading better composed and balanced. Here the whisky feels like it's almost there. I'm not going to say, "I can't wait until this stuff is 12 years old," but I think I kinda just said it.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - $150
Rating - 84

Kilchoman 100% Islay, 9th Edition

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Kilchoman doesn't source all its malt from Diageo's Port Ellen Maltings. An increasing portion of its barley comes from small Islay farms, including their own. The distillery's new malting floor and kiln provides the capacity to do 30% of their own malting going forward, using these local sources. While the Port Ellen malt has a phenolic content of 50ppm, the 100% Islay malt measures ~20ppm, resulting in a different spirit and whisky.

Since my palate usually enjoys whiskies in the 10-20ppm range, I keep hoping I'd prefer the 100% Islay products over Kilchoman's regular single malts. But it hasn't come to pass. The 3rd, 4th and 5th editions of the 100% are the most under-baked Kilchomans I've tried. Does the PE malt's 50ppm hide a spirit's immature side? Or does Diageo bewitch that stuff?

I'm rolling out three 100% Islay barley Kilchomans this week. They're all older than the aforementioned three editions (and the one single cask I kinda liked eight years ago), so I will attempt to approach them with no expectations.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: somewhere around nine years?

Maturation: first fill and refill bourbon casks
Barley: ~20ppm, sourced from Islay farms

Outturn: 12,000 bottles

Release year: 2019

Alcohol by Volume: 50%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a bottle split)

Apricots, cinnamon, brine and rye white dog fill the nose, in fact this is very close to new make. There are some new tires, new sneakers and toasty peat in the midground. Oats in the background. It improves once diluted to 40%abv, turning into liquid churros (cinnamon, brown sugar and dough), with hints of jasmine and vanilla beans in the background. Notes of bonito flakes and piney peat develop with time.

The palate isn't particularly hot but there is an unmistakable ethyl flavor in the background. A mix of salt, smoke and sweetness sits on top of that, with hints of mint and grass in the corners. As with the nose, diluting the whisky to 40%abv makes it more dessert-like while also adding complexity. It's sweet, but within reason, with notes of brown sugar and Boston cream. Waves of pepper and seaweed provide heft.

At first the finish matches the palate. Then it gets mintier and sweeter, until the salt takes over. Reduced to 40%abv, the whisky finishes with fruity cinnamon, cayenne pepper and Boston cream.

Well I'll be. A Kilchoman that swims! Trying it neatly, all I could think was "Oh crap, not again. How many more editions will it take?" But once I diluted it, the whisky seemed to take on a few more years. I probably woke the oak, but it was needed. It's still the least-formed of the distillery's standard or annual releases, which is curious as these batches include 50-60 barrels. Looking around the Intertubes, I see my opinion does not match that of the majority. That's cool, the majority can keep enjoying this whisky.

Availability - Various 100% Islay editions can be found on both sides of the Atlantic, even in Ohio!
Pricing - $90-$110
Rating - 81 (diluted only)