Hello Kilchoman fans in Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Indianapolis, we’re visiting and we have a trunk full of whisky!
Take a look at our tour map or the dates below and Meet the Peat. To celebrate our first Midwest tour we’ve created a special edition cask strength bottling of Machir Bay, 58.6% abv, which will be available exclusively from 2019 tour markets. We’ll also have all our latest limited editions, core expressions and Kilchoman merchandise to draw you in!
We kick things off in Chicago, at Binny’s, N Marcey Street on Thursday October 10th before the Whisky & Barrel Nite, N Morgan St on Friday the 11th.
From Chicago we head to Minneapolis for a Kilchoman Masterclass at Ace Spirits, Hopkins on Saturday 12th before an On-Prem meet & greet at Merlins Rest on Sunday afternoon. Then we’ll be across town at The Wine Company on the 14th, 12.30 – 3.30pm for some Kilchoman and Oysters.
Then we’re off to Ray’s Wine & Spirits in Milwaukee on Tuesday 15th, 6.30-8pm before returning to Chicago for events at Warehouse Liquors (6pm) and Delilah’s (9pm) on Wednesday the 16th.
And we aren’t done yet, we’ll be in Indianapolis on Thursday (17th) and Friday (18th) for a dedicated Kilchoman Masterclass on Thursday (17th) at Vine & Table, 4.30-6.30pm before attending the Vine & Table Whisky Show 5.00-9.00pm the following day (Friday 18th).
Our last stop is back in Chicago where we’ll be pouring at Independent Spirits on Saturday from 3pm to 5pm. Most of the events will require reservations so please get in touch with the stores/venues via the links above. If you have any questions for James Wills who will be hosting the events then drop him an email at james.wills@kilchomandistillery.com
See you in October!
The STR Matured has been awarded Best in Show at the Whiskies of the World awards. 24 of the world’s most renowned spirits experts judged it to be the best whisk(e)y out of hundreds of entries from Scotland, the US and around the world. The WOW award follows a Score of 91 points for the STR by Dave Broom in his regular reviews for ScotchWhisky.com, a score that is rarely beaten.
“I knew that I liked the STR but that doesn’t always mean others will so I’m delighted that it’s receiving such high praise from some of the industry’s most renowned and respected experts.” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Master Distiller.
WOW judge Benjamin Robinette commented “Despite the cliché of continuing to heap praise onto a surefire winner, there was a singular reason that I gave the Kilchoman STR my highest numerical score of the entire day’s tasting. For a while now I’ve been taken aback by Kilchoman’s precocious distillery bottlings — especially for their house style’s object lesson that maturity is possibly a more important factor in gauging the replay value and perceived quality in a spirit than its quantifiable age. In my personal tasting journals, I’ve canvassed territory in prior Kilchoman bottlings from liquid associations of cold-brewed Yirgacheffe coffee and pinotage wines to foodie analogies of Italian bakery goodies (sfogliatelle, cucidati, and giuggiulena) and stout pot pie. For all of my experiences with Kilchoman’s whiskies, the STR took the figurative cake – and let me eat it and drink it as well.
All at once on the second sip (once I’d warmed into it) I was rifling through a vast melange of characters — the refreshing skeins of veiled smoke and orange flower water exuded by a dry Amontillado sherry; the zig-zagging movement patterns of vieux rhum agricole from Martinique; a transparent, glassy, filmy salinity not unlike a junmai ginjo or junmai daiginjo saké; warming and richly engorged almond and golden stonefruit in the vein of a top-notch sweet Marsala wine; the touch of soft water and exhalation of sour cherry from the effortless mastery of a Black Forest kirschwasser. I felt like I could spin the roulette wheel toward any of the whisky’s colorful characters and win no matter where the ball landed. It is one of the few liquid masterclasses in terraced, easy-to-read, dynamic, and multi-associative complexity that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting — and it does not surprise me at all that it came from the masterful team at Kilchoman. Standing ovations should only be reserved for the very best of performances — and I was on my feet in an instant thanks to this genius offering. It is a fitting tribute and a living memorial to the legacy of the late Dr. Jim Swan.”
Dave Broom’s notes:
NOSe: Starts in an unusually robust and peaty way for Kilchoman: there’s a complex mix of grassiness, drying herbs and a little garden bonfire, then wet sand – all mixed with light cherry and raspberry that’s given a smoky intensity by the all-pervading smell of burning wood. In time there’s some walnut oil and even a little dubbin. Water brings out some resin, burning driftwood, cockles and char.
PALATe: While Kilchoman’s signature sweet elegance sits in the centre, the key here is the way it opens in different directions: there’s sweet, almost caramelised fruits and a whiff of sweet spice, while the herbal note picked up on the nose is now shifted to a Cynar-like bitter twang with added wormwood fronds and calamus. All the time, the smoke is coming in off the coast laden with salty notes. Water adds in peppers, cinders, more red fruit and a new earthy depth.
FINISH: Balanced between sweetness and still assertive smoke, with touches of elderberry.
CONCLUSION: A bold multifaceted Kilchoman. Recommended.
Whiskies of the World official results: https://whiskiesoftheworld.com/awards/ and judging panel: https://whiskiesoftheworld.com/judges/
Scotchwhisky.com review: https://scotchwhisky.com/whisky-reviews/new-whiskies/27057/batch-216/
BY ANTHONY WILLS, KILCHOMAN FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
I’m delighted to announce that we’re approaching completion of our stillhouse extension and hope to conclude commissioning within the next few weeks. The new building, extending out from the gable end of our original stillhouse, contains two new stills, a new mashtun and six additional washbacks which will double our capacity to 480,000 LOA, though it remains to be decided what production level we’ll settle at.
The stillhouse extension is the latest phase of an expansion that started last year with the completion of our new malt floor and kiln, we hope to complete the final phase; a new visitor centre, shop and café within the next 3-4 months. At a time when I thought I might take a step back we’ve invested around £6 million in upgrades, that said, without an increase in capacity we would be heading towards a situation where all Kilchoman would be sold purely on allocation. With my three sons heavily involved in the business we want to continue building on the success of the last 15 years without the risk of running out of whisky.
New
The investment amounts to almost an entirely new distillery in itself however we wanted to ensure that the new equipment was a mirror image of the original stillhouse and we’ve been delighted with the quality of the spirit, with no discernible difference in the character of that produced from the new compared to old stills.
The new equipment will also allow us to experiment more during the malting and peat phases as well as in the stillhouse with yeast varieties and isolating specific spirit runs.
Please get in touch with me directly if you would like to discuss any of the above. My email is anthony.wills@kilchomandistillery.com telephone number (+44) 01496 850 011.
For further comments and enquiries please contact either Anthony (details above) or James Wills james.wills@kilchomandistillery.com
Images of the new areas can be viewed and downloaded here
The Wills brothers are off on their annual promotional tour, this time they have decided to cover as much ground as possible, abandoning the distillery Land Rover in favour of more modern transport, the fact that Peter crashed the vehicle during last year’s European tour has nothing to do with… apparently!
Peter will be kicking off with the Japanese leg of the Tour, starting in Tokyo on September 28th before making stops in Nagoya and Osaka before returning to Tokyo on the 2nd of October.
He then hands over to James for the US Midwest tour starting in Chicago on October 10th. From there he heads north to Minneapolis before stops in Milwaukee and Indianapolis. See the full US itinerary here. Please contact the venues directly to enquire about tickets.
Then it’s off to Taiwan from November 20th – 22nd, Peter has events in Tainan, Taichung and Taipei before touring through China from November 24th – 2nd December where Peter has events in Beijing, Xi’an, Yantai, Hangzhou, Chongqing and Foshan.
As with previous tours, a special Cask Strength bottling of Machir Bay has been created which will be available from selected shops and bars during the tour. The boys have also arranged for plethora of the latest limited editions, merchandise and good humour for each and every event… more details coming soon!
Further info will be posted as venues and events are confirmed, keep an eye on our Tour Page as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages over the next few weeks!
Alternatively you can contact Peter directly for the Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese legs or James for the US Midwest – peter.wills@kilchomandistillery.com or james.wills@kilchomandistillery.com
It was another great year for Kilchoman at the International Whisky Competition with Sanaig scoring 95.1 points, that’s right, 95..1 points! Machir Bay also did pretty well with 91.4 points. IWC results follow both expressions being awarded Gold Medals at the Spirits Business Scotch Whisky Masters earlier this month – we’re on a roll.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder “It is hugely satisfying to see the hard work of everyone at Kilchoman recognised with such great scores – we’ll be handing out double whisky rations for all the team this week!”
Which scores higher in your opinion? The salt lick, sea spray, citrus, berries and butterscotch of the mostly bourbon cask matured Machir Bay or the rich rum-soaked-raisins, peat fire and figs and dried fruit of the predominantly sherry cask matured Sanaig? Discover more about our two core expressions HERE or by tapping the NFC tag on the back of Machir Bay and Sanaig bottles.
After one of the driest late Springs periods in living memory, we have finally had a few weeks of nice wet Islay weather and boy did we need it! By mid-May we had already cut back on production due to lack of water and we were beginning to worry about our barley. Thankfully the rain has arrived, the still house is in full production and the barley is developing nicely. This year we’ve sown 100 acres across 4 fields and hope to harvest in excess of 200 tonnes come mid-September. As part of our crop rotation strategy the Long Field, one of our largest and most productive fields has been turned over to pasture, in its place we have sown the House and Stone Cottage fields.
Having tested a new variety called Octavia last year, Islay Heads General Manager and Andrew Wood our farm contractor have decided to sow 90 acres of Concerto. Concerto has long been our star variety, we’ve grown over 10 different spring barley varieties since we opened in 2005, Concerto has been a consistent performer, producing good yields, standing up to the Islay weather and producing fantastic spirit for over a decade. Our soil and climate seem to suit Concerto well and it produces a beautifully floral spirit with layers of boiled sweets, hay, turmeric and honey which marry nicely with our peating levels and long fermentation.
Islay and Andrew have also trialled a new variety called Sassy. Approved by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in 2017, Sassy has similar characteristics to Concerto such as straw stiffness and ripening statistics, crucially, tests have shown Sassy to out-yield established varieties by 0.3 t/ac, performing particularly well in Scotland where our longer days help to achieve lower nitrogen levels. We’re hopeful that Sassy will be a worthy addition to Concerto however there is no telling how new varieties will cope with conditions here on Islay and on-farm performance is only one part of the equation, much more important is how a variety pairs with our malting, peating, yeast, and stills to affect the character of our spirit. Fingers crossed for a good growing season, dry weather at harvest and equally good spirit this time next year.
We are excited to announce the arrival of our second (of two) spring limited edition releases; the STR Cask Matured which will be available in the UK from Wednesday (8th May), hitting shelves in Europe later this week and further afield soon after that.
A creation of the late Dr Jim Swan, STR refers to a specific formula for the Shaving, Toasting and Re-Charring casks. A total of 43 casks filled in 2012 were selected by Anthony Wills, Kilchoman’s Founder and Managing Director, bottled at a strength of 50% abv without chill-filtration or colouring.
The process of shaving, toasting and re-charring has had a huge influence on these casks and the flavours of the resulting single malt. We released a full maturation Red Wine Cask release in 2016 which took on lots of the big and bold wine flavours, however the STR cask provides a different approach. The shaving has reduced some of the bolder flavours on the surface of the oak, producing a more subtle red wine influence. Once shaved, the casks were then toasted and charred over a natural oak fire, fuelled exclusively using oak chips from used staves. These processes remove harsh tannins and undelivered flavours and break down unwanted chemical bonds such as lignin, celluloses and hemicelluloses, replacing them with sugars, vanilla and spice notes.
“The STR cask balances influence from both the new and used oak to create a powerful combination of rich fruit, oak, spice and maritime peat smoke.” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder & Managing Director.
“Rarely have I tasted such a fruit-forward Kilchoman that accentuates the peaty, smoky character rather than masking it. The summer fruits and citrus combine with an earthy peat smoke character to create a combination of flavours that I haven’t tasted in our whiskies before.” James Wills, Sales and Marketing Manager.
The STR Cask Matured will retail for about £79.98 in the UK (70cl, 50% abv), a limited number of bottles will be available via our website at 12 noon on Wednesday (May 8th) however these will be restricted to one bottle per person. If you miss out on a bottle when they’re released online then do not fear, bottles are currently on the way to whisky shops around the world. We expect the STR to be available in Europe by the end of the week, reaching the furthest corners of the whisky world by the end of the month. Please get in touch with us via info@kilchomandistillery.com if you have any questions.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Summer fruits with a hearty measure of cinnamon spice, toffee and gentle peat smoke.
Palate: Soft caramel at first with layers of red berries, lemon tart and earthy peat smoke.
Finish: Long with a pronounced spice, honey and caramel notes.
Our Feis Day plans are coming together nicely, here’s a brief rundown of everything that’s going to make Kilchoman Feis 2019 our best ever!
Bookable Events, Tours and Tastings; we have a range of events that can be booked in advance of our Feis Day, click here for full details and availability.
- 11am – Founder’s Casks Masterclass with Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder
- 12.30pm – New Make Masterclass with Robin Bignal, Production Manager
- 2pm – Wills Bros Cask Selections with George, James and Peter Wills
- 10am, 12.30pm & 3pm – Islay’s Farm Tour with Islay Heads, General Manager
- 2pm & 3pm – Perfect Pairings with Whisky Chef Martine Nouet
- 9.30am, 11am – Be a Bottler (includes a specially labelled bottle of Machir Bay)
- 12.30, 2pm & 3.30pm – Ultimate Be a Bottler (includes a specially labelled bottle of Distillery Exclusive)
Explore; all our major production areas will be open and operational throughout the day, these include;
- Open Still House – chat with the still house team, take a look at our two new stills and try some of the fabled Kilchoman New Make spirit.
- Malt Floor – discover the ancient art of floor malting, try turning the malt yourself and enjoy a dram of 100% Islay on us.
- Warehouse No 1 – explore our traditional dunnage warehouses, take a picture with Cask No1 and enjoy a nip of Machir Bay.
- Barley Fields – you can take your pick of fields to explore we have about 400acres to explore. We’d recommend the Stone Cottage Field (first on your left after the Kilchoman sign) we’ve sown our two 2019 barley varieties, Concerto and Sassy, side by side.
Eating, Drinking, Dancing and Shopping
- The Whisky Bar will be serving endless supplies of Kilchoman limited editions, Comraich batches and cask samples.
- 4 Dram Tastings – learn more about Kilchoman and our whiskies with an informal 30min tasting lead by one of the team. Book on the day at the 4 Dram Tasting area (see map/program).
- Blend Cocktail Bar – our friends from Blend WhiskyBar in Castelfranco, Italy, have created a range of mixed drinks which will be available from the cocktail trailer throughout the day, fingers crossed for cocktail weather!
- There will also be three bands playing throughout the day in the Music Marquee, local meats served from the BBQ, light bites from the Salad Bar, cakes and coffees from the Café and all the branded gear you could ever want from the Gift Shop.
Whisky Shop
The whisky shop will be open from 10am stocking all of our recent limited editions, latest distillery exclusive single cask; a nine year old bourbon barrel and of course our exclusive Feis Ile bottling.
Feis Ile Bottling
Anthony is still finalising his cask selections for this year’s Feis Bottling, we can’t confirm anything yet but it’s looking likely to be a vatting of two 11 years old casks at cask strength. The Feis Bottling will only be available from the distillery on Thursday May 30th limited to one bottle per person. Exact details will be announced soon.
We look forward to seeing you all and enjoying another great Kilchoman Feis Day!
We are pleased to announce that 100% Islay 8th Edition and Machir Bay were awarded fantastic scores of 95 and 94 points respectively in the Ultimate Beverage Challenge 2019.
Judge’s Tasting Notes, 100% Islay: Pit fire smoke, roasted plums, marzipan, and baking spices draw you into the glass. The powerful aromas of smoke marry well with vanilla, nutmeg, and marshmallow on the palate. It finishes with a whisper of vanilla and sweet spice.
Machir Bay: The noble upstart from Islay has bloomed into a visceral character of the stony island. This iteration of Machir Bay assumes a light straw colour but packs a big maritime punch of roasted seaweed, preserved lemon, and wet stones.
A link to full results is in our bio. Results Islay Single Malts – https://www.ultimate-beverage.com/ultimate-spirits-challenge-USC/2019-spirits-results/?type=101&subtype=886&product_name=&country=&award=
Loch Gorm is our annually released sherry matured limited edition. The loch, murky and peaty in colour, reflects the dark coppery tone of the sherry matured Loch Gorm release.
As the only release in our range to be fully matured in sherry casks (from filling to bottling), Loch Gorm has always attracted special attention from whisky fans, especially given that just 15,000 bottles will be released.
Loch Gorm has been evolving over the years, each new edition containing a different combination of casks. This year Anthony has selected twenty oloroso sherry butts from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, meaning that for the first time Loch Gorm will contain 12 and 13 year old casks.
“It has been fascinating to see first-hand how the character of our oloroso butts have developed. Recent editions of Loch Gorm have seen a coming-of-age for the range, the addition 12 and 13 year old casks add a fantastic balance and complexity.” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder & MD
Anthony’s tasting notes: Layers of stewed plums, pears and tropical fruit have become more defined in the casks as they age, complimenting the bold, spicy and rich character of early releases, creating a beautiful marriage of Kilchoman and oloroso sherry cask maturation. I’m delighted with the 2019 release and look forward seeing how it’s received.”
Loch Gorm 2019 will be £69.90 in the UK (70cl, 46% abv) and available from ‘all good whisky shops’. A limited number of bottles will also be released today (Monday 8th April) via our online shop. Loch Gorm is expected to hit shelves in Europe by the end of next week and further afield soon after that. Please drop us an email if you have any questions about where to find this or any other Kilchoman releases.
