Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Brand: Kilchoman 2008
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 5 Years
ABV: 61.7 %
Date: 23/01/2014
Colour: Light Gold
Nose: Meaty & Peaty, Salt & Pepa! You have to find your way around the strong Alcohol of course. I find Cured Meat, light Iodine, Campfire Smoke, Ashes, light Tar, a Sea Breeze, Lemon, Sweet Barley, Butter, light Vanilla, Mint and a hint of Milk Chocolate.
Palate: Young Earthy & Dirty Peat, Ashes, Licorice, Pepper, Salt, light Vanilla, Toffee, Red Fruit, Oat Meal, Grapefruit and a sprinkle of Lemon.
Finish: Middle-Long, slightly Sour and Herbal with Ashes, BBQ Smoke, light Vanilla, Oat Meal, Pepper and Nutmeg. Quite Dry in the end.
I added a bit of Water and while the Aroma and Flavour profile does not change significantly, the lower ABV allows you to better enjoy this Kilchoman. So in this case I advise you to add a few drops before tasting.
Rating: 84.5
Nose: 21 - Taste: 21.5 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21
General Remarks: Kilchoman is the newest (farm) Distillery on Islay. Around 30% of the yearly Barley necessity is produced on the farm. The rest comes from Port Ellen. It is located on the West Coast and was founded by Anthony Wills in 2005. The Kilchoman 2008 I'm tasting today is a Single Cask release especially for Whisky Import The Netherlands. It was distilled on the 24th of April 2004, matured for 5 years in an Ex-Bourbon Cask # 192/2008 and was bottled at Cask Strength on the 29th of April 2013. This Kilchoman is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. It's still available at Whiskybase Rotterdam and costs around 115 US Dollars.
Drinking Experience Neat: Good
Conclusion: Very young Islay with lots of Dirty Peat, Smoke & Ashes, Herbs and Pepper. It's not bad though. If you like Ardbeg and/or Laphroaig 10 Years, you might want to try this Kilchoman. This distillery has a great future, at least in my opinion. If they can keep up the good work of course. The 2008 is not at all a complicated Single Malt and the ABV of over 60% is too high in my opinion. But it's a rewarding tasting experiment nevertheless. Like having a plate of peated Oat Meal, sprinkled with Pepper, Salt and Ashes. Cheers!
Jan van den Ende January 2014
