Kilchoman 2008 Review

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

Tomatin 1992 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Central Highlands

Brand: Tomatin 1992

Type: Single Malt

Age: 20 Years

ABV: 53.9 %

Date: 29/10/2013

Colour: Light Amber/Oloroso Sherry

Nose: Quite Sweet and very Heavy on Sherry. Some Sulphur as well. I also get lots of Dried Fruits (Raisins), Red Fruits (slightly Sour Grapes and Plums), Oak, Treacle, Brown Sugar, Orange Peel, Vanilla, Buttered Toast, Light Spices and hints of Espresso and Chocolate. Can you say that a Whisky gives a tired impression? Because that's the best way to characterise the Nose of this Tomatin. A Sherry Bomb without a Bomb!

Taste: (Bitter) Sweet with Sherry, Sulphur, Dried Fruits, Red Fruit like Grapes and Plums, Caramel, Toffee, Oak, light Licorice, Espresso, Christmas Cake and Winter Spices like Cinnamon and Nutmeg.  

Finish: Bitter-Sweet and Dry towards the end with Sherry, light Sulphur, light Licorice, Treacle, Dried Fruits, Bitter Chocolate, Christmas Cake and Winter Spices. 

I added a few drops of Water and on the Nose Sherry, Red Fruit, Vanilla, Milk Chocolate and Malt take the lead. But Palate and Finish become too diluted for my taste. But this Tomatin gives you room to experiment with a couple of drops. 

Rating: 82.5  

Nose: 20.5  - Taste: 21 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Tomatin Distillery was founded in 1897 and is located close to the A9 Motorway, halfway between Aviemore and Inverness. Over the years it grew very fast and today it has one the largest production capacities in the industry, although the distillery is currently not producing at full capacity. It is owned by the Japanese Takara Shuzo and Okura Group. A large part of the production (80%) goes into blends like Antiquary and Talisman. Lately the distillery is making an effort to promote its Single Malts. Today's dram was distilled on October 2, 1992 and was bottles at Cask Strength on November 14, 2012. It matured in an Oloroso Sherry Hogshead with Cask # 31497. This Tomatin is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. It was priced at around 190 US Dollars. I'm not quite sure it's still available.

Drinking Experience Neat: Regular/Good

Conclusion: A Good Sherried Single Malt should present a correct balance between the Sherry and the other Aromas and Flavours. And the Sulphur should not spoil the fun. In the case of this Tomatin however the Sherry is on the Heavy Side and the Sulphur is quite present. So while it's not really a bad dram, this Tomatin gives a bit of a tired and dusty impression. As a Christmas whisky I prefer the similar - but much better balanced Glendronach Allardice 18 years, the Aberlour A' Bunadh or the Tomatin 1976 by Mo Or.

Jan van den Ende                                                             October 2013

Glen Ord 1997 Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland (North)

Brand: Glen Ord 1997 (Archives - 4th Release)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 15 Years

ABV: 54.2 %

Colour: Pale Straw/Light White Wine

Nose: I wouldn't have given this 15 years! Quite Light, Herbal and Fresh with Green Apples, Banana, Pear, Lemon-Pepper, Grass, Straw, Heather, Mint, light Licorice, Oak, Toast and Margarine, Malt, Toffee and light Smoke/Peat. The Alcohol is not yet fully integrated. It reminded me a bit of a Clynelish 1997 I tasted recently. Except for the Smoke that is.

Palate: Malt, Apples, Dried Fruits, Nuts, Citrus, Oak, Straw, Pepper, Herbs, Martini Bianco, Honey and Toffee.  

Finish: Middle-Long and Sweet actually with Sugared Biscuits, Sugared Grapefruit Peel, Pepper and some Nuts.  

A bit of added Water increases the Pepper and Licorice on the Palate. My advise is to sip this Glen Ord neat.

Rating: 81.5

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Glen Ord Distillery was founded in 1838 and is located on the Black Isle in Ross-Shire. It closed various times during its history during the World Wars. Today it's in the hands of the Diageo Group and lies at the heart of the Dewar Blends.

The 1997 we are tasting today was distilled in April 1997 and was bottled at Cask Strength in April 2012. It matured in a Hogshead with Cask # 800083 out of which 64 bottles were commercialised via the Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Archives is their relatively young own label. This Single Malt is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. It's still available at Whiskybase but only just. It costs around 80 US Dollars

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: A decent Highlander without any flaws but with not too many highlights as well. Lots of Citrus on the Nose and Palate. Interesting touch of Martini on the Palate. Nevertheless I'm sure I will forget this Glen Ord quickly and I'm glad I only had a sample. This Single Malt simply lacks the Wow Factor!

Jan van den Ende                                                        October 22, 2013