On face value you might look at that title and think that these are just regular cask strength versions of Kilchoman's entry-level whisky, like a few other distilleries offer, but it's not quite that simple. These cask strength versions of Machir Bay are special bottlings for what Kilchoman call their 'tours', when the distillery sends representatives on road trips across either Britain, Europe or the United States, where they visit retailers and bars, conduct tastings and of course sell their wares. From what I can find the first of these was bottled in 2014 for their UK tour, followed by another in the same year for a European tour, then one in 2015 for another European tour, one in 2016 for the east coast of the U.S., another for the U.S. in 2017 for the west coast, and now one in 2018 for another European tour. The distillery has also started offering cask strength vattings of Machir Bay as exclusive bottlings for retailers & distributors, but to my knowledge only a couple of those have been bottled to date.
I've reviewed a few batches of Laphroaig's 10 Year Old Cask Strength to date, and I've definitely mentioned just how scarce and therefore expensive it is in Australia, but these two Kilchomans are far harder to find, the number of bottles released is positively minuscule in comparison to the Laphroaig. And these are quite reasonably priced if you do manage to find one - but that'll most likely be at overseas auction if you're not based in Europe or America. Rather confusingly they alternate between the red packaging & labels of the distillery's single cask bottlings, and the blue packaging & labels of the regular Machir Bay and vintage releases, so they don't always immediately stand out from the standard release. The two bottlings that I'm reviewing here are from 2015 and 2018, the first being the 2015 bottling for the UK tour which a fellow Kilchoman fan picked up from overseas auction, and the second being the 2018 bottling for the European tour that I picked up myself from Milroy's in London during my pilgrimage. The 2015 bottling was one of the smallest releases so far, consisting of only 648 bottles, while the 2018 bottling is the largest so far with 2,310 bottles. The 2018 bottling is also the first that is not presented in a box, and it has been given a unique printed plastic label rather than the old paper versions. That's still quite a small release of course, but then everything that Islay's only farm distillery does is on a small scale when compared with their neighbours, and even when the currently-under way expansion is complete they'll still be far smaller than the vast majority of all Scottish distilleries.
Like the regular Machir Bay expression (older batch reviewed here) these are vattings of roughly 85-90% ex-bourbon casks and 10-15% ex-sherry casks, but rather than the 46% ABV of the entry-level Kilchoman (nothing to sneeze at of course) they're closer to 60%. They're a similar age as well to the regular version, which is a vatting of casks from 4-6 years of age, but Kilchoman fans will be aware of how these young whiskies often defy their ages. Always remember that age and maturity are two very different things (in whisky, and also in people!) and if you ask me Kilchoman produce some of the best examples of what young whisky can be. That's certainly helped by the distillery bottling all of their whisky at a minimum strength of 46% ABV, without ever chill filtering or adding colouring, and careful production, good casks and natural & honest presentation seem to be the winning recipe. Let's get to it!
Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength 2015, NAS, 59%. Islay, Scotland.
Bottled for UK Tour 2015, 85-90% ex-bourbon casks, 10-15% ex-sherry casks. Natural colour, non-chill filtered, 648 bottles.
Colour: Pale gold.
Nose: Very nice. A little Ardbeg-y in fact but slightly darker and meatier, and more fruity. Sweet lemon & lime, under-ripe tart pineapple, vanilla frosting and some meaty drying seaweed. Light chunky peat, some warm chalky sand and a dusting of sea salt.
Texture: Excellent. Medium weight, sweet and peaty syrup. No heat at all.
Taste: Sweet fruit syrup on entry, sweet ripe pineapple and more lemon & lime. Then a lovely crumbly, slightly sharp peat with loads of fruity sweetness underneath. A little chewy toffee and vanilla custard as well.
Finish: Long. Peaty and salty, a little astringent and drying. Some aniseed, dry chilli flakes and a little cocoa powder. More sea salt, seaweed and a little hessian sacking (sandbags, potato sacks etc.). A slight bitterness to finish, like citrus pith (the white spongy stuff), and soft earthy peat.
Score: 3.5 out of 5. Almost a 4 in fact.
Notes: Very good! The mouthfeel on this one is fantastic, a really syrupy texture with that dry chunky peat mixed in. Great stuff. The spice and bitterness in the finish are a little unexpected, but not entirely unpleasant and they definitely add depth. It's still recognisable as Machir Bay as well, which isn't always the case with some cask strength versions of other distilleries' regular expressions. Not a massively complex dram perhaps, but it's very enjoyable and very tasty.
Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength 2018, NAS, 59.8%. Islay, Scotland.
Bottled for European Tour 2018, 85-90% ex-bourbon casks, 10-15% ex-sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 2,310 bottles.
Colour: Pale gold, slightly paler than the 2015.
Nose: Immediately very different. Younger, brighter and sweeter, but also more angular and much less rounded. Orchard fruit this time (apple & a few pears), more chunky earthy peat, and some fresh seafood-like sweetness. A little more spirit- and alcohol-forward than the 2015, almost mezcal-like in comparison. A slightly vegetal sweetness and some dirty engine oil with more time.
Texture: Very nice. Medium weight, syrupy again with plenty of peat. Not as sharp or angular as the nose suggested, and only a slight touch of heat.
Taste: Syrupy again, lots of fried sweet banana and a little ripe pineapple this time. A spicy, chunky, sharp peat with a good pinch of dried chilli and black pepper spice alongside. Some sour lemon juice and ashy wood smoke, and a flash of vanilla around the edges.
Finish: Medium length. Shorter, a little sharper and more angular. More lemon juice, turning slightly bitter, some chalky peat and more ashy smoke. Light vanilla cream and a little fried banana.
Score: 3.5 out of 5. But only just.
Notes: Another reminder that I should've gone with a 10-point scoring system! Oh well. This one is very different, much less rounded and a little sharper, with more spice and sweet mezcal-like vegetal notes. And it definitely feels younger overall. But it's still very enjoyable, there's a nice fruity sweetness mixed in with that chunky peat that is very much in the 'spirit' of the regular Machir Bay releases. I do prefer the 2015 bottling personally, but I can see the 2018 version ticking a lot of boxes for Islay fans as well.
Both of these whiskies are proof of what Kilchoman can do at such young ages, even at these high strengths. And both drink well below their nearly-60% ABVs. Good value for money too, particularly if you're lucky enough to be in Europe. Great stuff from Islay's underdog!
Cheers!
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