The final stage in the whisky-making process is bottling! At Kilchoman we are one of the few distilleries in Scotland that bottle all of our own whisky. Everything from Machir Bay, single casks, miniatures and gift packs are completed on site by our bottling team.

Many people are unaware that few distilleries bottle their own whisky on the site where it is made. It is easier, particularly for larger companies, to send all their whisky to a central location in Scotland to be bottled and distributed from there. Kilchoman is different, we were established with our barley to bottle philosophy in mind, using water from the Glen Osamail to reduce our whisky to their bottling strength. On-site bottling is integral to our ethos.

We currently ship our whisky to over 60 different countries all around the world, each with their own strict packaging rules and regulations. Just for our Machir Bay expression, there are around 15 different label variations for the bottling team to keep track of. Depending on the final destination of the whisky, they ensure that the countries specific guidelines are adhered to. Forgetting any little detail could result in entire orders having to be sent back to Islay and re-labelled, an expensive mistake!

As the bottling team are the last people who see the whisky before it reaches the shelves, they have to quality check every bottle – Does it have the iconic Kilchoman coin attached? Is it filled to the right level? Is the label straight and in the correct position? How does the whisky look in the bottle?

Life is made slightly easier with a few machines to help fill bottles and attach the labels, something we had to do by hand for many years! However, it isn’t all easy going, every Kilchoman coin is still stuck on by hand, the bottles packed into cartons by hand, and many single casks and small batches are still hand numbered.

Christmas has been kind to the bottling team and in 2025 we are hoping to install the new labelling machine that has arrived with a few extras!

With our current set-up and a full team on the line, we can bottle over 3,000 bottles of whisky in a day, which equates to 8 pallets. Currently the team consists of six members with Derek leading the way as bottling manager. Derek is also responsible for hand cutting all the peat we use in our kiln, so he’s a busy man! There are then a further five members of the team who have specific roles along the line, all required at full tilt when a big order comes in…

Once the bottles have been approved, they are packed into outer cases, loaded onto pallets, and wrapped up tight. We wish them good luck on the long journey around the world, hopefully arriving safely on the shelf of your local retailer.

It may not be the most talked about or glamorous role at a distillery but it certainly is a vital one!

Shake the Farm is back!

We are once again challenging bartenders across the UK to create a cocktail which showcases one of our core range whiskies alongside one farmed British ingredient.

The Theme

As Islay’s only farm distillery, Kilchoman embodies the spirit of the land, crafting whisky that celebrates local provenance and craftmanship. Inspired by our roots, we are proud to present this year’s ‘Shake the Farm’ cocktail competition, inviting bartenders across the UK to champion the connection between whisky and agriculture. The challenge is to create a cocktail that showcases one of our core range whiskies alongside a single standout ingredient farmed right here in Britain. Together, let’s shake things up while honouring the essence of farm-grown quality!

A set of easy rules:

• Cocktails must contain a minimum of 25ml of Kilchoman Machir Bay, Sanaig or Batch Strength.
• The recipe must contain one UK farmed ingredient.
• Creations must be easy to replicate and made using tools and ingredients commonly found in bars.
• Drinks must not contain more than 6 ingredients (excluding garnish).
• The use of homemade ingredients is greatly encouraged but not necessary.
• Entries must be submitted before 23^rd March 2025 at midnight.

The Challenge

Application:

• Recipes must be submitted via our entry form.
• A picture of your cocktail must be shared on Instagram tagging @kilchomandistillery, @kilcho.man and your bar with the hashtags #shakethefarm #kilchomanwhisky #barleytobottle.
• The cocktail must be available within the candidate’s bar offering.

Selection:

Three finalists will be shortlisted based on their online submission and Instagram post. The following criteria will be used for the selection process:

• Drink’s name, story and visual appeal.
• Choice of farmed ingredient.
• Instagram post originality.

Finals:

The finalists will then be invited to an all-expenses paid hands-on apprenticeship at our distillery on Islay (April 21^st – 24^th). During these four days, they will stay on the farm, learn about distillery production and have a hand in making our single malt, finishing up by competing to become our 2025 Shake the Farm champion.

The winner will get a chance to select an exclusive single cask reserved to UK on-trade and take six bottles of it home with them. To top it up, the winning cocktail will be featured as our official Fèis Ìle 2025 libation.

ENTER NOW

Cask selection can make or break a whisky. You could make the best new make spirit in the world but deciding what casks you put it into will ultimately define the end result. At Kilchoman we take cask selection very seriously, sourcing casks from all around the world and making judgments as they mature to create the highest quality whisky we can.

First of all, it comes down to the type of wood. To legally be called whisky, all casks need to be made from oak wood that can be cut from trees around the world. The most common types of oak used in the scotch whisky industry are American oak (Quercus alba) and European oak (Quercus robur). How the spirt interacts with the wood itself plays a major role in the overall flavour.

American oak forms a closed grain (lots of thin layers of oak close together) and is fast growing. This is favoured by the whisky industry as it is better for liquid retention and there is a high availability of it making it easier to source. It will typically impart flavours of vanilla, coconut and tropical fruits

European oak is slow growing so has a more limited availability. It will generally give notes to the whisky of dried fruits and warm spices. At Kilchoman, our sherry casks are actually made with American oak instead of European oak. This is due to the fact that European oak is more porous, allowing less interaction to take place so will generally require a much longer maturation.

After deciding what type of oak we want to mature in, it then comes to selecting what the casks have been used for previously. The two most commonly used types of casks are ex-bourbon barrels and ex-oloroso sherry casks. However, we have experimented with everything from cognac, rum, tequila, mezcal and calvados. This produces a wide variety of additional flavour and allows us to make a more diverse range of whiskies but this comes with its own challenges, as some can be more difficult to work with making it harder to predict the outcome.

When it comes to selecting which cask types we use, the key word is balance. We don’t want to choose something that will overshadow Kilchoman’s unique spirit, but we also want to ensure we are getting enough influence that it adds flavour and creates harmony. Not all cask types will work for us as well as others, which is completely fine. It all comes down to discovering what showcases our whisky in the best light.

Now we wait. Despite going through the process with a fine-tooth comb to select what we feel will be the best casks for us, it all comes down to what happens while they are aging. As much as we would like to think we have total control when it comes to this, you cannot tell a cask how to mature and sometimes you can taste two casks from the same batch, and they can be entirely different from one another.

There is no right or wrong way to choose casks. It all comes down to the desired flavour the distillery is looking to achieve. What may work well for one may not work well for another. One of the wonderful things about whisky is that this means there is an unimaginable number of different flavours being created all over the world and with the amount of diversity in the industry means there truly is something out there for everyone to enjoy.

The visitor centre is currently open 10:00 – 16:00 Tuesday to Sunday. The café is open between 10:00 and 15:30 for coffees, teas and cakes with lunches being served between 12:00 and 14:30. The distillery will be closing for Christmas on the 22^nd December.

We will be serving our festive afternoon teas each weekend. These must be booked at least 24 hours in advance by phoning us on 01496 850011 or emailing tours@kilchomandistillery.com.

Or come and join us for our afternoons of festive fun, make your own rag wreath, willow star or take part in a paint and sip party.

🎄7th & 8th December  – Rag Wreath Making with Camella Crafts.

To book: Phone or Text Elaine 07769851351

🌟14th & 15th December – Willow Star workshops with Justine Holdsworth. Saturday kids’ session & Sunday adults’ session.

To book: Kids Session http://bit.ly/4eFfJ0Z  & Adults Session https://bit.ly/3Cq1zmY

🎨 21st & 22nd December – Paint and Sip with Heather Ogilvie.

To book: Visit https://heathersart.sumupstore.com/ or phone Heather on 07989160121 or

Full tuition will be given, and spaces must be booked in advance.

Back in October James Wills embarked on our biggest ever US tour, taking him from Boston MA to Orlando FL and stopping at infinite picturesque cities big and small along the way.  He visited over 50 of our US retail partners and met close to 2,000 fans of Kilchoman.  The 2024 tour followed successful tours in the mid-west as well as both the west and east coasts.

The focus of the events was our latest core range release, Batch Strength, particularly the Tour Edition featuring Rory, our Aberdeen Angus bull.  99.7% loved it, (some preferred one of our other releases), deepening affection for high strength Kilchoman with established Islay whisky lovers and converting those less partial to a peaty dram to our new ‘colossal’ core range expression. If you haven’t tried Batch Strength yet, then you should seek it out… your local stockist should have it on the shelves.

If we missed you on our latest tour then don’t worry, we’ll be back, we aren’t sure when or where yet, but if you have any suggestions then please get in touch.