Kilchoman do release quite a large range of single cask and private cask bottlings, often sold exclusively to particular retail stores or private groups all over the world, mostly in Europe. It's a great idea, and I assume it's a handy source of extra income for the young distillery. Some of the larger distilleries will do this on occasion, but at a much larger cost and generally not on such a small scale, whereas Kilchoman are helped by the fact that they have their own bottling line on-site. Obviously these single cask or small batch bottlings aren't easy to find if you're not in the UK or Europe, so there won't be much chance of finding them in Australia. I'm afraid most will just have to live vicariously through me for this one! That said, there have actually been two single cask Kilchomans bottled exclusively for Australia, organised by the official importer, Baranow's. The first of those was a very tasty PX sherry finish, and the other a sherry-finished 100% Islay bottling that I'm yet to taste.
Two of the three single cask bottlings that we're looking at today did come from a popular online auction site based in the UK, which of course caused Australian customs to have a field day and get some more funding for the government's weekend travel expenses. Not forgetting DHL of course, who make sure they always get their oversized piece of the pie. But that's just the price we have to pay to get these rarities, or even regular bottlings that were / are not imported here, on our shelves down under. The third bottling we're looking at came from an Australian online store who I assume parallel imported (bypassing the official importer) a few bottles from a European re-seller. That one was an absolute bargain, and was around the same price as we pay for the regular Cask Strength & Loch Gorm expressions in Australia. Needless to say, it sold out very quickly from that online store.
Our subjects for today's review are actually very, very different. All are single cask bottlings, all were bottled at cask strength, and of course all are non-chill filtered and naturally coloured since Kilchoman doesn't do any of that rubbish. On the menu this evening we have a 3-year old ex-bourbon cask that was bottled for Germany (presumably organised by the German importer), which also happens to be the only old-shape Kilchoman bottle that I've ever seen in the flesh. Next up is a 5-year old ex-Oloroso sherry cask that was bottled exclusively for a bottle shop in The Netherlands, which is the bottling that I picked up in Australia. Last but certainly not least is a 10-year old ex-bourbon cask private bottling that was bottled for "The Pedigree Chums of Durham", which I believe is a reference to the modern-classic gangster movie 'Snatch'. This also happens to be the first 10-year old Kilchoman that I've tasted, and they're still a very rare thing, although there have now been two 11-year old distillery releases (the 2018 Feis Ile bottling, and a distillery shop-exclusive single cask), and one 12-year old private single cask. I tasted these in the order they're listed in, since I'd already acquainted myself with all three and knew roughly what to expect, and all were given the same amount of time to breathe (covered). The order was in the interest of palate-preservation, since the 3-year old is a proper Islay beastie! Let's get to it!
Private bottling for "Pedigree Chums of Durham". Single ex-bourbon cask, number 14/2006, 246 bottles. Distilled 4/2006, bottled 5/2016. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Semi-pale gold.
Nose: Soft, sweet and coastal. Brine, bitter licorice, coastal peat, driftwood (salt-soaked old wood). Salted toffee, vanilla custard and sweet, light tropical fruit.
Texture: Light-medium weight, soft & warming. More peaty than the nose suggested. No alcohol heat at all.
Taste: Coastal peat, more vanilla custard, and a soft bitterness, but it's more of a bitter oak here. Some ashy smoke, and lemon oil around the edges.
Finish: Medium length. Starts with that bitter oak and ashy smoke, some more lemon oil, then the coastal, salty peat returns with some spices in tow.
Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Notes: Very nice stuff. Certainly a refined and more dignified Kilchoman, which we can expect since it's roughly twice the age of most of their other expressions. It also has less overt cask influence, in terms of previous contents, than most of those other expressions, which makes it quite balanced and sophisticated. Plenty of Kilchoman fans, including myself, love their younger whiskies, and this is certainly a different animal to those, but there's no drop in quality, not that we'd ever expect there to be from this brilliant little distillery.
Exclusive to Bresser & Timmer bottle shop (Netherlands). Single ex-Oloroso sherry cask, number 559/2011, 348 bottles. Distilled 9/2011, bottled 11/2016. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Sweet, fruity & chocolate-y. Slightly plastic-y as well (light sulphur, perhaps), but not unpleasantly so. Loads of smoked fruit & nut semi-dark chocolate, sweet dark stone fruit, plasticine (play-dough), and a little earthy peat.
Texture: Medium-heavy weight, rich and slightly meaty, lightly sulphured. No spirit-y heat.
Taste: Lightly meaty, more smoked fruit & nut semi-dark chocolate, a littler rubber, and acrid wood smoke. Cooking spices and some scorched woody herbs, particularly rosemary, and dried sage.
Finish: Medium-long length, spicy and smoky. Nutty, dry sherry with more of that plastic-y note from the nose, but it's not off-putting, for my palate anyway. Some smoked salt, dark stone fruit and a little mushroom-y umami meaty-ness.
Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Notes: Very tasty. Darker in character, more challenging and more powerful (which is to be expected). That plastic / rubber note may put some people off, but it doesn't spoil the show, it's more of an interesting sideways glance than an unpleasant confrontation. And it does add to that savoury / umami character on the palate. And the masses of smoked dark fruit & nut chocolate more than make up for it.
Kilchoman 3-year old single cask, 60.5%. Islay, Scotland.
Exclusive to Germany. Single ex-bourbon cask, distilled 12/2006, bottled 3/2010. Cask number 363/06, unknown number of bottles (not numbered). Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Extremely pale white wine.
Nose: Oh yes! Very coastal, and quite peaty. Some aniseed, a little sour citrus, sweet earthy peat, and a slightly spirit-y tingle, but not harsh or rough in any way whatsoever. A little medicinal as well, reminds me of an industrial / workshop hand cleaner actually, that sort of oily gel-type hand cleaner. Which might not sound appetising, but it's very enjoyable!
Texture: Heavy! Big, thick and peaty. Massively peaty actually, but very drinkable, and the peat doesn't let any spirit-y heat show itself at all.
Taste: Well, hello there! Very peaty, a sweet crumbly peat, and some lovely ashy smoke. A little sea salt and fresh tar, quite medicinal too (unusual for a Kilchoman) with more of that industrial hand cleaner. In a good way, trust me!
Finish: Long. Still hugely peaty, coastal and lightly medicinal.Some iodine and newly-opened cotton-wool swabs. Sweet peat, and a little fresh citrus (lemon & lime).
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: It's right up my alley admittedly, and I don't think it't suit a beginner, but wow is it tasty! If a young, cask strength Caol Ila (think Port Askaig 100 Proof) ran away with a young, cask strength Ardbeg (think Renaissance), this would be the resulting love child! If you like young, peaty Ileachs, this would suit you just fine. And it's remarkably drinkable for just three years of age, at 60.5% ABV. The magic of Kilchoman right here...
Overall notes: Three very, very different whiskies here. If this were a blind tasting I'm not sure I would pick them all as Kilchomans, in fact I'm quite sure that I wouldn't. Which is both the beauty of single cask whiskies, and the beauty of this versatile little distillery. The 10-year old is refined and softly-spoken, but it can still handle itself. The 5-year old is the more overtly-cask influenced of the three, but that sherry cask hasn't dominated the spirit, and nor should it at such a young age. And then that brash and boisterous 3-year old comes charging in, a take-no-prisoners young Ileach that packs a real peaty punch and ticks a lot of boxes for this Islay-lover. That one is the best demonstrator of what this distillery can do at such young ages, and let's keep in mind that it's only just old enough to be called whisky!
These are all tasty drams, and all have plenty of character, but I'd have to award the 10-year old and 5-year old equal second place, with the 3-year old winning by a sizeable lead. The sheer variety of these, and other single cask bottlings that I've come across, is fantastic. Kilchoman are doing some fantastic work, they're the quiet young upstart on the whisky isle (until Ardnahoe opens!), and we love them for it!
Cheers!
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