Concluding the Kilchoman Cluster

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

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)

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

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

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

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

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

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)

Kilchoman 2010 Vintage

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Though some of the Machir Bays soared, I'm feeling more optimistic about these Vintage releases overall. The 2007 was good, though not as grand as I'd hoped. The 2008 was probably about as great as a 46%abv 7 year old whisky can be. Now I'm leaping up to the most recent Vintage (though a 2011 may be coming out this year), the 9 year old 2010. As of the moment these words are typed, this is the oldest Kilchoman I've ever tried. Of course that record will be topped soon......oops, I probably should've thrown a spoiler alert in there.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: Nine years (2010 - 2019)

Maturation: 30 bourbon barrels and 3 Oloroso Sherry butts
Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Outturn: 15,000 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 48%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a purchased sample)

The nose begins with a lovely note of a recently snuffed candle, with clove and brown sugar in the background. Pine and charred veg appears next, followed by pineapple and fruity cinnamon. A hint of manure in the background. It's mostly peated pineapple juice once the whisky is reduced to 40%abv, with hints of cinnamon and grass in the back.

The palate's salt is nearly excessive until it mixes with a vegetal note creating something like a veggie broth. Serrano pepper above, cardamom and flower blossoms underneath. The smoke gets sharper, bitterer and more metallic with time. That bitter, metallic smoke makes up most of the diluted 40%abv palate. It gets grassier and more floral, while losing the salt.

Smoky residue and cassia lead the finish, followed by black pepper and ocean water. Once it gets diluted to 40%abv, the finish gets very ashy, bitter and grassy.

Like all of this cluster's Machir Bays, this whisky's palate does not take water well. Thus it's not just a 5yo whisky issue. Though it's preferable at the 48%abv bottling strength (two points higher than its predecessors), this whisky struggled next to the 7yo 2008. It has a cracking start with an engaging nose, but the palate feels stunted and doesn't air out well. Its lack of oak is novel in today's Islay market, but the mouth and finish needed something more, a couple bolder casks or maybe more time. Perhaps that was the role of the three sherry butts, but they've disappeared within.

Next week: Kilchomans that are 100% not from Port Ellen barley. But for now...

Availability - Available on both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific, though mostly in Europe
Pricing - $90-$110
Rating - 84 (with the nose keeping it aloft)

Kilchoman 2008 Vintage

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Following the 5 year old 2006 Vintage and the 6 year old 2007 Vintage, Kilchoman released the 7 year old 2008 vintage in 2015. Unlike my experience with the 2007, I come to this review without expectations as I've never tried it before. Though often tempted to buy a whole bottle of it, I settled on purchasing a 60mL sample instead. Let's see how it fares against its previous, though younger, sibling.

Distillery: Kilchoman

Region: Islay

Age: Seven years (2008 - 2015)

Maturation: "bourbon barrels"

Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Outturn: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No

(from a purchased sample)

The nose is very beachy, lots of seaweed and salty air. A little bit of soot in the background. Bits of black licorice and fruity yeast here and there. With time, it develops a rich apple pie note. Diluted to 40%abv, it gets farmier and yeastier, while also picking up notes of apples and pineapples, pine needles and vanilla extract. And most importantly, black walnuts.

The palate's smoke is by turns savory, peppery and sooty. It has a nice combo of baking spices, brown sugar and almond extract, though it never gets too sweet. A slight metallic note in the background grows a bit once the whisky is reduced to 40%abv. Roses and tart apples in the background, earth and peppercorns in the foreground.

Lemons, baking spices and chiles lead the finish with gentle smoke and sweetness lingering behind. It gets bitterer and smokier when reduced to 40%abv, with a little bit of tartness around the sides.

This is the vintage I should have purchased. Unlike the 2007, the palate does not cower beneath the nose's excellence, and the finish is quite nice. The peat reads loudest in the nose as well, mellowing out in the palate. I prefer it neat, but the nose takes water very well. There's a quality here I had really hoped I would find during this cluster, the sort of merit that makes me think, "THIS is what I was looking forward to."

Availability - May still be found at some European retailers
Pricing - $85-$100 (w/VAT)
Rating - 88

Kilchoman 2007 Vintage (my bottle)

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Kilchoman began their "Vintage" series in 2011 with the 2006 Vintage (all of five years old), and have been releasing the next vintage every other year, each one also a little older than the next. For instance, the 2007 Vintage appeared in 2013 and had a 6 year age statement, and 2019 saw the 9 year old 2010 Vintage. These tend to be bourbon cask-only batches — though the 2010 had <10% sherry casks — so it's a nice way to experience the progression of the distillery's single malt, something akin to Kilkerran's Work In Progress series.

I first tried the 2007 Vintage at an official Kilchoman event seven looooooooong years ago. It was matched up with five other Kilchomans, three of which were pricier single casks. According to my handwritten notes, it won the night by some distance. I even wondered if it was the best Kilchoman I'd had yet.

Irrational exuberance followed, as it does.

Not only did I buy a bottle, but I started obsessing over every subsequent vintage release. Should I buy it, should I not buy it? This actually continued right up through 2019. But I didn't buy any other vintage. Nor did I even bother to open my bottle.

Now I have. And now I will review the 2007 Vintage.

Distillery: Kilchoman
Region: Islay

Age: Six years (2007- 2013)

Maturation: "fresh and refill bourbon barrels"

Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Outturn: 10,000 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from the top third of my bottle)

A swirl of cigarette and Black & Mild cigarillo smokes fill the nose's foreground. Anise, halvah and soil linger in the background. It gradually develops a gummy worm sugariness and a hint of copper. It gets a little darker when reduced to 40%abv, with more industrial metallic smoke, dirty hay, old Parmesan rind. More on gumdrops than gummy worms in the background.

The palate begins with a mix of sea salt, tart limes, gentle earthy bitterness and a sort of coastal smoke. Not much sweetness. Though the bitterness grows, it never overwhelms. The smoke gradually gets ashier. The palate's texture is curiously thin, as if the whisky was chillfiltered. Simple sweet smoke and brine take over once the whisky is diluted to 40%abv, with some hints of almond and cashew butter in the background. Again the smoke gets ashier with time.

The long but simple finish holds bitter smoke and charred burgers. A little bit of tart citrus offers some brightness. At 40%abv, the finish is lightly sweet, ashy and briny.

Seven years later, I have a soberer (though not for lack of trying!) take on the 2007 Vintage. This is a good whisky. Period. It's not the best Kilchoman I've ever tried, nor will it land in the top five of this very cluster. It's softer and rounder than any of last week's Machir Bays. It also stands up to dilution better than any of this cluster's previous seven Kilchomans.

As I've found with most young whiskies, this one's excitement descends with each aspect. The nose establishes a sturdy style different than most other Islay single malts, while also being a bit dirtier than the Machir Bays. The palate begins well, though I wish its eventual ashiness was quieter. It finishes in a satisfactory fashion, no more, no less.

Mark it. This is the ninth Kilchoman, but the first to make me contemplate, "How great would this be in __ more years?" And now there's two-thirds of a bottle left for me to ponder over.

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - $70-$80 back in the day
Rating - 85

Assessing the Kilchoman cluster at the halfway point

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Having just completed seven consecutive Machir Bay (MB) reviews in a row, I'm pausing before launching into the Not-Machir Bay portion of the Kilchoman cluster in order to summarize the experience. Setting aside the new make review preceding the MBs, I wanted to expand upon something I said during Friday's review: "[T]his series has begun to reveal the limits of ~5 year old peated whisky."

While none of those seven whiskies was a stinker — all ranged between 81-89 scores — all of them fractured to the point of near unpleasantness once diluted. The two standard MBs were bottled at 46%abv, and they were reduced to 40%abv, while the cask strength MBs were diluted to 46%abv to see how they would perform at the standard strength. I'm not too shocked to see a single malt read more complex and balanced at 46%abv than 40%. But I found it revealing that not one of the cask strength bottlings performed well at the standard's strength. Each of them was supposedly in the queue for a Machir Bay batch, but each of them would have been a hindrance, or something requiring blending out, had it been used.

All but one of the Cask Strength releases was from a very small batch, with two of them coming from its own single cask. Could they have been selected out by the blenders because of the style/dilution issue? If so, how does that explain the much larger 2020 release, which was the clunkiest of the cluster thus far? Is "Machir Bay" just a brand name, something they stick at the beginning of a whisky for familiarity purposes? Even the standard releases no longer have any specific official age or maturation data, so their recipes could have already changed a few times in less than a decade. Or has Kilchoman found the frontier's end for 5 year old whisky?

Of the seven MBs I would buy only one of them at 46%abv, and that is the 2013 bottling of the standard release, the earliest and youngest of the bunch. Of the five cask strength releases, the only one I'd buy is the 2014 version, also the earliest and (possibly) youngest of the group. I'll also note that those are the only two expressions for which I had both official age and maturation information.

All of this ignores the high quality of these very young whiskies. All seven of these Kilchomans are six years or younger, yet all fall within my definition of B-grade whisky. I'm a tough crowd for whiskies of this age, having strongly disliked both the vast majority of single-digit-aged indie casks I've tried and the official NAS releases from other distilleries. Perhaps my Kilchoman reviews aren't as ebullient as they were eight years ago, and perhaps the earlier releases have the nod over the newer ones, but I continue to be impressed by many of the "Machir Bay" branded whiskies. It's not much of a stretch for one to think the 50ppm new make fuels the quality.

Now it's time to push beyond that 5 year wall to see what happens to Kilchoman single malt with more maturation time.

Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength, 2020 edition

(Kilchoman cluster homepage)  

If you're getting tired of this series-within-a-series, I can sympathize. While I'm glad it's reaching its conclusion, this series has begun to reveal the limits of ~5 year old peated whisky.

Kilchoman gave up in 2020, though not like the rest of us. They decided to release the Machir Bay Cask Strength (MBCS) worldwide. (Though not as part of the regular rotation.) The data out there are limited, but I'm guessing the outturn is larger than the previous one-offs. The last "Original Cask Strength" release utilized quarter casks, while this Machir Bay Cask Strength has regular(?) bourbon and sherry casks. There's some Xmas stuff on front label, and these words on the back label:

Before reducing a batch of our Machir Bay to its regular bottling strength of 46%abv, this release was bottled at cask strength...

If you've read any of this week's reviews then you'd know my skepticism about the first part of the above statement. But I (seriously!) would just like some good whisky, so here it goes. Again. For the last time.

At cask strength, 58.6%abv	Diluted to 46%abv
There's just a wall of butter and caramel blocking everything else in the nose for the first few minutes. Peat and anise break through first, then popcorn (with butter and caramel, natch). And brown sugar. Salty ocean air, yeast and apricots show up after 30 minutes.	The nose starts with caramel corn, simple syrup, ash and something metallic. It needs some time, then the coastal note drifts up from the background, followed by moss, cinnamon and roses.
Peated Robotussin (I'd drink it) in the palate. Charred beef and ash. Hints of roses, mint and caramel in the background. Starting at the 20 minute mark the whisky takes a turn towards tequila (joven, maybe?), with a little bit of lemon and brown sugar.	Ooookay, this palate is big on vegetal, smoky silver mezcal (yes I know tequila and mezcal's relationship, thank you). It gets sweeter with time, until the simple peat smoke takes a backseat to a lump of cinnamon and golden raisins.
It finishes sweet and ashy. Pears and tequila. A squeeze of lemon.	This finish reads hotter, somehow, with a mix of bitter ash, golden raisins and lemon juice.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

One of the reasons I was drawn to Kilchoman's single malt was because it was not reminiscent of mezcal. I like mezcal, but all those baby Taliskers on the market burned me out on mezcal-esque scotch, so that's a problem here. BUT, thanks to too many bad decisions in college, super young tequila makes me queasy, so I actually prefer the diluted version of this MBCS this time. The nose was the best part of each version of the malt, so good that it keeps the whisky from dipping into the C-grade range.

None of this is a ringing endorsement of course, so the Machir Bay run ends on a wobbly note. Because these whiskies were more educational than I'd expected, and we're near the cluster's halfway point, I'll try to post a recap/assessment of the eight whiskies before continuing on. Happy Friday!

Availability - a few dozen USA and Europe retailers
Pricing - $70 - $85
Rating - 81

Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength, Meet the Peat Tour 2019

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

To summarize this week's results: These Machir Bay Cask Strength (MBCS) limited releases seem to be "Machir Bay" in name only, different in style to the standard Machir Bay and a hot mess at 46%abv. They're all much better at full power. I've reviewed a 2014, 2015 and 2017. Today's it's the Meet the Peat Tour 2019 bottling for the US of A, the last time the MBCS would be limited to a single market.

There doesn't appear to be any disclosure of this whisky's contents on the labelling or official sites. Kilchoman mainly promotes its tour which appears to have been more of a logistics feat than the actual whisky, with stops in the US, Japan and China. Other bloggers have said it's 90/10 bourbon/sherry casks, but that's hearsay so that doesn't get bold font. Age and outturn are also absent, though if anyone has a link to an official statement then please share in the comments below. But the abv is 58.6%, so that's a thing?

At cask strength, 58.6%abv	Diluted to 46%abv
My favorite nose of the four so far: Yellow peaches, roses, anise, a salty mossy smoke and a metallic hint in the background.	The nose starts with rye white dog, dried sweat, sour apple candy, roasted seaweed and burnt kale. It picks up hints of moss and dried cherries with time.
The very medicinal and coastal peat notes read loudest on the palate. Some lemon and ginger in the midground. Bitter baking chocolate in the background. Almost no sweetness.	The palate goes raw again, though not as aggressively as the 2017. Lots of moss and veg, salt and soot. Mint candy appears about 30 minutes in, then nearly takes over.
Coastal and sooty, the warm finish takes on those lemon and ginger notes after some time.	Bitterer, sootier and saltier than the palate, the finish eventually takes on the awkward clashing mint candy note.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Fourth verse, same as the first? I'm starting to get punchy here. When the whisky is neat, the nose's angles and the palate's brutality are qualities a number of Islay distilleries wish they could achieve with their official releases. But I really don't care for this at standard Machir Bay strength (46%abv). Again. It feels barely 3 years old at that strength. Again. Keep this one at full strength. Again.

Availability - Sold out?
Pricing - $75 and up
Rating - 87 (when neat, mid to low 70s when diluted)

Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength, USA West Coast Tour 2017

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

Continuing this cluster-within-a-cluster of Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength releases, I bring thee the 2017 USA West Coast Tour bottling.

Unlike the 2014 and 2015, reviewed on Monday and Tuesday, this 2017 was not from a single cask. The packaging shows no age statement and says the whisky is "a vatting of specially selected bourbon and sherry casks" with an outturn of 840 bottles. Because "vatting" is referenced, one wonders if Kilchoman had stopped the sherry cask finish approach to Machir Bay at this point and were marrying casks and parcels instead. One may also wonder if this 60%abv release, like the 2014 and 2015, was ever intended to be part of the regular Machir Bay batches, or if Kilchoman is just using the "Machir Bay" name because it has become familiar to their customer at this point...

At cask strength, 60%abv	Diluted to 46%abv
The nose starts out very hot and tight, requiring 20+ minutes to open up. Then one finds nut butters, ocean-y peat, fuji apples, pineapples, marshmallows and a hint of band-aids.	The nose is close to newmake again, with a surprising whiff of barley. Along with the ocean-like peat note comes plenty of sage smoke. Toasted coconut and grilled pear appear in the back.
Compared to the nose, there's a lot more fruit in the palate, specifically oranges and tart stone fruits. Cayenne pepper and Campari flow through the midground, with a coastal smoke integrating well with it all.	The palate reads hot, bitter and peppery. Some lemon and pencil lead show up here and there. But it's very raw, almost a palate killer.
Gentle peat lingers through the mildly sweet finish, but grapefruit and Campari looms above it.	The finish nearly mirrors the palate with heat, pepper, bitterness and a hint of lemon.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

The theme continues: Don't reduce this stuff to 46%abv. In fact, this whisky gets damned near unpleasant at that strength. Keep it at full power where the palate's fruit and smoke win the day. Its nose is the edgiest and least mature of this set so far, but it's still plenty of fun once it opens up. I wouldn't mind knowing the actual age of this whisky's components, because it seems much closer to 3 years than the 5-6 years of my 2018 bottling of actual Machir Bay. All three of these CSes seem like they'd burden a 46%abv batch of Machir Bay, and all work much better at cask strength. Let's see how tomorrow's whisky pans out...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (when neat, at least 10 points lower when diluted)

Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength, UK Tour 2015

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

Starting in 2014 Kilchoman released limited edition cask strength versions of their main expression, the Machir Bay. They continued these special releases until 2020 when Machir Bay Cask Strength entered their standard range. Like yesterday's 2014 bottling, this 2015 was part of an annual Land Rover-sponsored UK marketing tour.

Like the 2014, this is allegedly from a single cask, likely a sherry butt, yet the outturn was significantly different; this release included 648 bottles, while the previous year had 468. The ABVs were nearly identical, 59.0%abv for this one, 58.8% for 2014's release. And while the 2014's box referenced 5 and 6 year old whiskies, the 2015 box has no age statement. And unlike the 2014, the 2015's labelling has no mention of casks. I doubt this sudden lack of disclosure is some sort of conspiracy, rather it's just a bummer.

As I'm doing with all five of these MB CSes, this whisky will be compared against itself, full strength versus MB's usual 46%abv.

At cask strength, 59.0%abv	Diluted to 46%abv
The nose beings with vanilla wafers, rooty smoke and beach sand. It opens up further after 20 minutes, as the smoke goes chocolatey and the vanilla shifts to dulce de leche. Hints of anise, rose petals and peach skins settle into the background.	Lots of cucumber skin and pears in the early nose. Maple smoke, toasted coconut and salty ocean air appear 20 minutes later. At the 30 minute mark it starts leaning towards dessert wine, maybe late harvest Zinfandel (something I haven't had in at six year, so I dunno)?
A heavy, tangy smoke fills the early palate, with moderate bitterness and sweetness beneath. As it (and the drinker) focuses, notes of lemon bars, minerals and soil appear.	The palate becomes very very sweet. The sugar blankets over tangy smoke, horseradish bitterness and peppercorns. Maybe some cherries and flower blossoms in there somewhere.
Lemon bars, cracked pepper, pears and soil fill the finish. The smoke hits more in the aftertaste, chasing the mild sweetness	As with the palate, the finish goes candy sweet. Hints of peppercorns, chiles and bitter smoke float beneath.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

It happened again, though less drastically than with the 2014 release. Diluting the whisky to 46%abv reveals an immature whisky that doesn't really fit the Machir Bay style. This one became incredibly sweet, to the point that the heavy peat levels just crumbled under the sugar. It's a better, and seemingly older, whisky at full power. This also has the loudest vanilla and caramel notes I've experienced in Kilchoman thus far, which keeps it from meeting the 2014 in quality. Like that whisky, this seems like a quirky cask the producers set aside for releases like these.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 85 (when neat)

Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength, UK Tour 2014

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

As part of a wee marketing tour of the United Kingdom in 2014, Kilchoman released a small parcel of bottles (approximately one sherry butt's worth) of full-powered Machir Bay. They did so again the following year with a slightly larger outturn. They came to The States with a larger bottle count in 2016 and 2017. It 2018, it was a "European Tour" with an outturn three times that of the American releases. By 2019 they had a multi-continent Meet the Peat tour, and its cask strength Machir Bay was now an unspecified "limited" edition. In 2020 they gave up the whole "tour" theme, instead making Machir Bay Cask Strength part of the regular range a worldwide release.

I have the pleasure of reviewing FIVE of these annual batches this week. Each whisky will be tried at full strength and the regular Machir Bay strength of 46%abv. As a gift to us all, the intros will be smaller than this one.

Starting with the first one on the left, the Land Rover (sponsorship!) UK Tour 2014 edition. The box does say the whisky is a mix of five and six year whiskies matured in bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry butts. It was bottled at 58.8%abv, with an outturn of 468 bottles.

At cask strength, 58.8%abv	Diluted to 46%abv
The nose starts with dense peat smoke gradually adding in nuts, oats, apricots and candied citrus peel. Milder notes of tar and briny shellfish linger in the background.	A little zanier here, the nose rides close to newmake with some ethyl, roots, shellfish and manure. It also has brighter notes of anise, candy canes and an almost lemony smoke.
WOW, the palate. Possibly the peatiest Kilchoman I've had yet. It's also filled to the brim with black walnuts and truffle salt. Bitter herbal liqueurs and a citrus sweetness ease in after some time.	The palate becomes sweeter and bitterer, with much milder smoke. Feels close to newmake again, with black peppercorns, dried lavender and dried oregano. A little bit of orange candy in the background.
It finishes with a balance of peat and sweet. Plenty of the truffle salt remains. Hints of lemon candy and black walnuts appears from time to time.	It finishes very sweetly, with little bits of dried herbs, bitter smoke and tangy chiles. But mostly sugar.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I'm having a difficult time believing this parcel was destined to become part the regular Machir Bay outturn. Though dynamite at full strength, it's scattered and immature at 46%abv. Perhaps the distillery became aware of this circumstance then elected to set it aside for a bottling such as this. As bottled, the black walnuts, citrus and truffle salt work delightfully in the palate, and all the nose's elements sing in unison. I have little positivity to share about the 46%abv version other than it has the occasional weird charm. Keep this one neat.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 89 (when neat)

Kilchoman Machir Bay, bottled 2018 (my bottle)

(Kilchoman cluster homepage) 

Well, dear reader, I did try to find a 2020 Machir Bay but the fact that I was able to find anything of Kilchoman's in Ohio was kinda special. As I type, four stores might have Machir Bay in Franklin County, population 1,316,756. Anyway, this whisky was bottled in May of 2018. It's been open for a couple of months so this review pour isn't coming right off the top.

Mathilda's fourth birthday!

Today's notes come from a Taste Off I did between this whisky and yesterday's 2013 Machir Bay, which was 95% three & four year old whiskies + 5% five year old stuff. Kilchoman has become less public about the age of Machir Bay now, though major UK retailers pin the current bottlings at 5-6 years old. On a curious note, this was the lighter-colored of the two MBs.

Distillery: Kilchoman
Region: Islay

Age and Maturation: Components may be 5-6 years old, aged in "bourbon and sherry casks"

Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Bottled: 15 May 2018
Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from the top half of my bottle)

The nose reads much smokier than the 2013. Anise-infused mezcal spreads through the midground, carrying cardamom and apricots. It gets brinier with time, picking up a slight farmy note. Dropping the abv to 40% turns the nose into an awkward cocktail of mezcal, Hampden rum and lemon juice.

The palate is better than the nose. It's some sort of nut bread loaded with nutmeg and cloves, followed by toasty peat, lots of salt and sweet limes. Hints of candied pecans decorate the background. Reduced to 40%abv, the whisky becomes simpler. Sweet and bitter. Mint and lime and salt.

It finishes with the nut bread note, coastal peatiness and lots of sweet limes. Things get simpler here as well when the whisky is diluted to 40%abv, mostly salt and wood smoke with a hint of lime.

Lots of interesting stuff going on here. As I'd referenced above, the whisky is lighter colored. It also noses younger than the three year old 2013 bottling. Frankly the nose is uninspiring, and worse when diluted. The palate rights the ship. While there are fewer angles and dimensions to it than the 2013 edition, the 2018's palate hits all the right notes for a winter warmer. It also avoids the nose's rougher sides. As with the 2013, the whisky works better at 46%abv than 40%, but it tends to weaken more thoroughly with this 2018 version.

Ostensibly the 2018's contents are older than the 2013's, so I wonder if there were changes to the spirit's or malt's specs. Or are there more refill casks involved? Though Kilchoman Machir Bay remains one of the best of Islay's NAS entry-level malts, it seems to be acting its age now more than it used to.

Availability - At many specialty liquor retailers in North America, Europe and Asia
Pricing - $45-$65
Rating - 84 (when neat)

Kilchoman Machir Bay, bottled 2013

 (Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Per my palate, Kilchoman hit the ground running with their first standard bottling, Machir Bay. Named for the West Coast beach near the distillery, the whisky was mostly 3 and 4 year old whiskies with a smidgen of 5 year old stuff when it first showed up in 2012, yet it met and bested some of Islay's regular 10-12 year olds. I went through a couple bottles in the first few years and recommended it to anyone who wanted some "really smoky scotch". Samples were never kept because it was an everyday bottle, and it was a year or two before my interest began regarding the quality progression of standard bottlings. Luckily I was able to purchase a sample a few years ago. And don't worry, this wee one had a sparring partner.

Distillery: Kilchoman
Region: Islay

Age and Maturation: 60% 3-year-old matured in former Buffalo Trace barrels + 35% 4-year-old matured in former Buffalo Trace barrels and finished for two months in ex-Sherry casks + 5% 5-year-old matured in former Buffalo Trace barrels

Barley: 50ppm, sourced from Port Ellen maltings

Bottled: 2013
Alcohol by Volume: 46%

Chillfilltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from a purchased sample)

The neat nose begins with freshly baked cookies and peat smoke laced with mint and anise. Notes of wet tree bark, horseradish and shoe polish develop over twenty minutes. Reducing it to 40%abv brings out farmy and leafy notes. The mint and anise remain, while the cookies become pastry dough and confectioner's sugar.

Lemon cookies and moderate wood smoke, with a whiff of pine, takes palate's foreground. Butterscotch chips, peanut brittle and a salty mineral note fill the midground. Hints of charred beef and York peppermint patties roll around in the back. Reducing the whisky to 40%abv rolls the smoke back and brings the salt and minerals forward. A tarter lemon note lingers in the background.

Smoke highlighted with lemon and bitter herbs fills the surprisingly long finish. Smaller notes of mint leaf and minerals appear later. Diluting to 40%abv pushes the sooty smoke even further forward. All the other elements are replaced by a mild sweetness.

Yeah, this still rocks. It's young, but neither rough nor raw, and it still seems older than its age. No mezcal nor ethanol, but plenty of lemon, mint and minerals. And though the peat is ever-present, it doesn't hammer the tastebuds like 3-5yo Port Charlotte, Ardbeg or Talisker can. At least I knew back in 2013 that Machir Bay was a good thing.

I'll review a more recent bottling tomorrow. But for now...

Availability - In 2013, North America and Europe
Pricing - In 2013, $50-$60
Rating - 87 (when neat)

Kilchoman New Make Spirit, from Port Ellen Maltings

 (Kilchoman cluster homepage)

Let us begin with the naked stuff, or something close to it. Many many thank yous to LV33 who was able to obtain a sizable sample of the clear spirit from a very good source, then shared a bit with me. 

This is the heavily-peated version of their spirit, weighing in at 50ppm at time of malting. Sourced from Diageo's Port Ellen facility, the barley was malted using specs similar (or identical) to Ardbeg's. The vast majority of Kilchoman's malt still arrives in this manner, though an increasing quantity comes from their own malting floor (10-25ppm). Their new make's actual strength runs close to 70%abv, then they reduce it to 63.5%abv for cask filling.

Distillery: Kilchoman
Region: Islay

Age: 0

Maturation: No
Source: Port Ellen maltings
Peat level: 50ppm
Alcohol by Volume: 63.5%

At first the nose shows mesquite smoke and dried apricots. Then jasmine blossoms and baking chocolate. At the ten minute mark those two pairings merge, resulting in white peaches, rose blossoms and a chocolatey smoke. Hints of pine, cinnamon and cumin appear in the background later on.

The palate reminds me of the one super-aged sake (koshu!) I tried in Kyoto four years ago, with its balance of dried fruits and savoriness. And also sake. But its fierce mossy smoke is very much not sake. There's just a tiny bit of eau de vie in the background.

Brazil nuts, toasted seaweed and heavy smoke finish it off.

Per my written notes, "Goddamn I love newmake." I can't even speak constructively about it. This is a beautiful spirit. Not complex, just adorable. Most Scottish new makes trend towards eau de vie (very good) or mezcal (good), but this one tilts towards sake which appeals to my nose and palate. Kilchoman did release a few high strength "New Spirit" bottlings once upon a time, each of which was less than three years old. I can't promise they'll be as good as this. But if you can find a bit of their new make, drink it!

Rating - 87 (yes, a whisky rating for a new make)