SHAKE THE FARM – THE FINALS

The first edition of Kilchoman’s Shake the Farm cocktail competition is now over and we have crowned the winner.

After holding heats in Edinburgh, Manchester, and London the winners of each heat were invited to Islay, not just for the final, but to spend 2 days at Kilchoman learning about everything we do to make our delicious Single Malt.

Kuba, Alex and Glenn spent day 1 going around the Distillery and also local landmarks that we have named our whiskies after. Their highlights included tasting Machir Bay on Machir Bay and tasting the latest 100% Islay in one of our barley fields.

The prize for the winner was to select a cask of Kilchoman that will be bottled exclusively for the UK. Robin took them into the warehouse to taste various casks and select the one to be bottled.  Keep an eye out for more details of that coming soon…

The following day was the main event, the final. The judging panel included Ken, Emma and Robin. Each contestant not only had to make their cocktail, they had to explain the reasons for their choice of ingredients. Our Batch Strength was the whisky featuring in the cocktails and each contestant had to use at least one farmed or foraged British ingredient.

First up was Alex with “The Play Barn” a delightful combination of Blackberry leaf liqueur, hay soda and Batch Strength, garnished with a Blackberry leaf and fruit lollipop. Robin was a particular fan of the Lollipop!

We then had Glenn with “Eidyn” which included brown butter washed Calvados, an apple, bramble, and rhubarb infused honey syrup topped up with a rhubarb and honey soda. This was served with a side of “leftover” crumble re-using all the ingredients.

Last up was Kuba with his drink “Lil’ Love Affair” combining Batch Strength, rhubarb cordial 3 ways (fresh, stewed and fermented), Brioche liqueur and a few drops of horseradish distillate served with a slice of dehydrated rhubarb.

Ken, Emma, and Robin agreed that all three cocktails were delicious, with creative ingredients and impressive presentation. However, there could only be one winner… Alex Holmes with his drink, ‘The Play Barn.’

The cask that Alex selected was cask 932/2016 which was a bourbon cask that has been finished in Brandy for 12 months. This Cask will be bottled and exclusively available for bars and restaurants throughout the UK later this year.

Thank you to everyone that entered the competition, and congratulations to Alex and we hope you all enjoy his Single Cask when you try it.

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