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

Glen Keith 1991 Twenty One Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside

Brand: Glen Keith 1991

Selected by and Bottled for Wilson & Morgan, Edinburgh (Barrel Selection)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 21 Years

ABV: 50 %

Date: 21/01/2014

Colour: Full Gold

Nose: Nice but quite restrained. This Glen Keith needs some time in the glass to open up. Nevertheless it remains somewhat introspective. I find Red Fruits like Cherries and Red Grapes, Cassis, Malt, Marzipan, Cake and Butter, Nuts, Dried Fruits, Honey, Oak, Floral Tones and hints of Espresso and Pineapple-Juice. The Alcohol is reasonably well integrated.

Palate: Sweet, Creamy, slightly Sour and Spicy with Honey, Floral Perfume, Malt, Oak, Syrup, Red Fruits like Berries and Grapes, Nougat, Buttered Toast, Pepper, Nutmeg and hints of Cocoa Powder and Herbal Tea.   

Finish: Quite Long with Malt, Butter Biscuits, Honey, Oak, Mineral Tones and Spices like Pepper and Nutmeg. After a while a bit of Dark Chocolate appears.

I added a couple of drops of water. On the Nose I find a little more Malt, Red Fruit and Pineapple. More Red Grapes on the Palate and light Licorice in the Finish. You can play with a few drops!

Rating: 85.5

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21.5 

General Remarks: The Wilson & Morgan Company is an Independent Bottler, based in Italy. Owners are the Rossi family that started importing Blends in the sixties. Single Malt Selection was added in the 1980's and in 1992 Wilson & Morgan was founded by Fabio Rossi to attend the high end Single Malt market. At various distilleries, W&M selects barrels for their Barrel Selection series. Most of the casks mature at the distillery itself. The Glen Keith I'm tasting today was distilled in 1991, matured in an Ex-Sherry Butt with Cask # 89650 and was bottled in 2013. No artificial colouring was added and the Whisky is not Chill-Filtered. It sells at around 170 US Dollars. 

The Glen Keith Distillery is located in Keith (Banffshire) and was founded in 1957 by Chivas Brothers. It was mothballed in 1991. Fortunately, Chivas was bought by Pernod Ricard from France in 2001 and after reconstruction Glen Keith started production again last year. A lot of their production is destined for Blends like Johnnie Walker and Ballantine's.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: Nice but not spectacular Single Malt. In a blind tasting I could have easily suspected a Red Wine Finishing with all the Red Grapes and Cassis on the Nose. I could have scored it a few points higher if not for the following minor observations: I would have liked to see the Nose opening up more easily. And I prefer to see the Palate a little less Sour and Spicy. But these are only minor criticisms. The price seems reasonable for a Single Malt of this age although it's still a lot of money!

Jan van den Ende                                                           January 2014