Dear friends and followers, thanks for stopping by to see what's happening in the world of SamuelWhisky! A couple of days ago I was very lucky to once again receive a package of samples from the nice people of Clydesdale (Swedens top importer and seller of whisky and other beverages).
This time the package contained samples (whisky and a Bramble Liquer) from the Islay Distillery Kilchoman only! Out of the latest release of their "Machir Bay" and their dito "Loch Gorm" and "100% Islay" I decided to devote todays blog-entry to the latter. Here in Sweden it will be released on the 1st of June
The Kilchoman 100% Islay has as you can all understand been produced with barley only coming from Islay and having been malted and peated at the distillery. The yeast is not from Islay (and of course not the barrels/casks) but other than that, it is all Islay! It has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels which were filled between 2009 and 2010, meaning that this whisky should be 5yo at its youngest and 6yo at its oldest. This is how Anthony Wills (Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director) describes the difference between this Kilchoman expression and the regular expressions:
"There is a clear difference between the 100% Islay range and other releases, the lighter peating level and maturation exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels gives the whisky a beautiful fragrance and balance (…) We expect that followers of Kilchoman will enjoy this latest Edition of the 100% Islay, the added maturation time compared to previous releases has given the whisky added depth and balance, we expect it to be a hit"
Well let's see if Anthony is right then shall we?!
Nose:
Holding the glass at a few centimetres from my nose I get a really soft mint with touches of something green, some kind of mint-ish and/or herby-ish leaves, or maybe I’m just thinking about the herb you put in a Mojito… (?) at the same distance there is also touches of very mature pear and a quite ashy smoke. Movning the glass closer, almost dipping my nose in there, I also get citrus, moving towards orange peel mingling with smoked vanilla and cucumber-water. This Kilchoman does not scream ”PEAT!” right in your face, but you can’t really not notice the peat, it’s definitely there and always in combo with other stuff, I guess what I’m trying to say is that the peat does not stand alone, if you know what I mean? Really mature for it’s age and that wee touch of new-spirit that has been in a couple of earlier Kilchomans is not in this one. So a taste maybe?!
Palate:
Beginning on smoked salt! A wee bit of new-spirit in the beginning of the palate mixed up with something rubber-ish, but that quickly goes away and moves on to what is definitely a nice handfull of peat, and salt, but still very soft, so not really a fist of peat that slaps you in the face, rather it caresses your mouth. This soft peat is not bad of course, on the contrary, I’d say that this is one of the most elegant and sophisticated Kilchomans I’ve ever tried! Really smooth, and the interesting thing is the very smooth parts of the early aftertaste, not really showing the mint, but almost as if there had been som orangepeel macerated in the whisky for a short period of time, giving this whisky a really nice touch of citrus, also the cucumber-water comes back. The late aftertaste is a combo of dry and mouthwatering, very interesting feeling!
A big thanks to the nice people at Clydesdale Original Scotch Whisky Co. Ltd Great Britain for sending me this tradesample! Please follow SamuelWhisky on my Zuckerberg-page by going here, and on my bird-page by going here.
Copyright © and All Rights Reserved on all tasting notes by SamuelWhisky and pictures likewise belong to SamuelWhisky unless stated. If you would like to use any such material that belongs to SamuelWhisky or associated with SamuelWhisky, please ask by sending me an email to samuelkarlssonorebro@gmail.com Sláinte!
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| pic belongs to Clydesdale/Kilchoman Distillery |
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