Sanaig has been awarded 95 points in this year’s Ultimate Spirits Challenge, a great result which puts Sanaig in the Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation category. The score follows Machir Bay’s 95 points in last year’s competition; a nice run of results for our two core expressions.
Machir Bay and Sanaig are both a combination of bourbon and sherry matured Kilchoman however their differing vatting proportions, Machir Bay being 90% bourbon matured and Sanaig 70% sherry matured, create two distinct characters; the earthy, citrus, maritime, Machir Bay and the rich, fruity Sanaig. Take a look in the Whisky Shop or more details on these two flagships of the Kilchoman range.
See a full list of the winners here https://www.ultimate-beverage.com/ultimate-spirits-challenge-USC/2018-spirits-results/Kilchoman-Sanaig-Islay-Single-Malt-Scotch-Whisky/
Our latest limited edition, Red Wine Cask Matured will be available worldwide from Monday October the 9th. Just under 7,000 bottles of the limited edition have been released.
Distilled in 2012, the Red Wine Cask Matured has spent its full maturation term in the single cask type rather than being a finish.
The casks, from the Douro Valley in Portugal, were personally selected by Kilchoman Founder Anthony Wills. The Red Wine Cask Matured follows Port, Madeira and Sauternes matured expressions released annually since 2014.
As with all of the Kilchoman range, the Red Wine Cask Matured is peated and non chill filtered with this particular release having a natural coppery red colour as a result of extraction from the oak casks. This expression has been bottled at 50% ABV, slightly stronger than our typical 46% ABV, the higher bottling strength adding structure and intensity to the dram.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder “we are delighted with the Red Wine Cask Matured, it’s unlike anything we’ve bottled previously, the full-flavoured influence of the Douro valley red wine casks have added depth, body and layers of rounded cooked fruits to the classic Kilchoman citrus sweetness and peat smoke character.”
Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured is bottled at 50% ABV and will be available worldwide from the 9th of October. Get in touch with your local whisky shop to ensure you get a bottle! A small number of bottles will also be available directly from our website from noon on Monday the 9th priced at £78.80.
Here at the distillery, we have been working hard to bring you some new and interesting events at this year’s Feis Ile Open Day.
We have arranged Masterclasses and tastings hosted by The Wills Family and the rest of the team, who will also be on hand to share their knowledge and experiences of working at Islay’s Farm Distillery.
Please read on to discover the full line up and other entertainment on offer this year.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to our distillery.
Kilchoman’s Feis Ile Open Day is Thursday 31st May 2018.
Monday 28th May
Founder’s Tour with Anthony Wills | 1pm
An in Depth tour of the distillery with Anthony, finishing in the warehouse where you can experience some of our early releases and individually selected cask samples.
£50
LAST PLACE REMAINING
Tuesday 29th May
Founder’s Tour with Anthony Wills | 1pm
An in depth tour of the distillery with Anthony, finishing in the warehouse where you can experience some of our early releases and individually selected cask samples.
£50
9 PLACES LEFT
Wednesday 30st May
Founder’s Tour with Anthony Wills | 1pm
An in depth distillery tour with Anthony, finishing in the warehouse where you can experience some of our early releases and individually selected cask samples.
£50
SOLD OUT
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Distillery Tours at 10am, and 3pm | £7pp
Intermediate Tour (Festival Week only) at 2pm | £15pp
Premium Tour at 11am | £35pp
Booking Advisable
Thursday 31st May | Kilchoman Open Day
Be a Bottler 9.30am
Join our bottling team and experience the time and care that goes in to every bottle of Kilchoman. Fill and label your own Machir Bay using our hands-on approach and get it signed by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
Includes your personalised 70cl bottle of Machir Bay
£50
SOME PLACES AVAILABLE
Be a Bottler 11am
Join our bottling team and experience the time and care that goes in to every bottle of Kilchoman. Fill and label your own Machir Bay using our hands-on approach and get it signed by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
Includes your personalised 70cl bottle of Machir Bay
£50
SOLD OUT
Islay’s Farm Tour 11am
General Manager Islay Heads will give you a guided tour of how the Distillery and the farm work in harmony. Ride along in the estate wagon stopping off at our water source for a dram of our 100% Islay and a lesson in peat cutting before continuing on to the dunes overlooking Machir Bay for a windswept nip of whisky of it’s namesake. As you make your way back to the distillery you’ll visit Kilchoman Church for a bit of sanctuary and a final pour of our Sanaig expression.
£35
SOLD OUT
Be a Bottler 12.30pm
Join our bottling team and experience the time and care that goes in to every bottle of Kilchoman. Fill and label your own bottle of Machir Bay using our hands-on approach and get it signed bu Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
Includes your personalised 70cl bottle of Machir Bay
£50
SOLD OUT
The 100% Islay Philosophy with Anthony Wills 10am – 11.30am (Maltfloor/Malt Down/Seated)
Join distillery founder, Anthony Wills for an in-depth discussion on the 100% Islay range. This is his proudest creation and represents the revival of single malt produced on a single location from barley to bottle. Anthony will guide you through a selection of cask samples filled from 2008 to present day, hand picked from our warehouse.
£75
SELLING FAST-LIMITED AVAILABILITY
Be a Bottler 2pm
Join our bottling team and experience the time and care that goes in to every bottle of Kilchoman. Fill and label your own bottle of Machir Bay using our hands-on approach and get it signed by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
Includes your personalised 70cl bottle of Machir Bay
£50
SOLD OUT
Club Members’ Masterclass 2pm
Join George, James and Peter on a journey through some of their favoured expressions. Seated in our Warehouse, you will have the opportunity to sample some of kilchoman’s earliest and best releases chosen by each of the boys. Talk freely with them about working alongside their parents, Anthony and Kathy, at Kilchoman since the very beginning and listen to the many interesting and humorous stories they each have to tell.
£40
SOLD OUT
Islay’s Farm Tour 2pm
General Manager Islay Heads will give you a guided tour of how the Distillery and the farm work in harmony. Ride along in the estate wagon stopping off at our water source for a dram of our 100% Islay and a lesson in peat cutting before continuing on to the dunes overlooking Machir Bay for a windswept nip of whisky of it’s namesake. As you make your way back to the distillery you’ll visit Kilchoman Church for a bit of sanctuary and a final pour of our Sanaig expression.
£35
SOLD OUT
Premium Be a Bottler 3.30pm
Join our bottling team for a single cask bottling experience. This premium experience will enable you to bottle your very own distillery exclusive edition. From rolling the barrel in from our warehouse to hand writing the number on the label you will get to see first hand the time and care that goes in to creating one of our single cask releases.
Includes your 70cl bottle of Distillery Exclusive
£95
SOLD OUT
Still House Visits
Immerse yourself in the sweet smells of our New Make Spirit as it is being made in our still house. Chat informally with our friendly and knowledgeable stillmen whilst enjoying a dram of Machir Bay. These still house visits will be available regularly throughout the day and are free of charge.
(no pre-booking required)
12 places per visit
Warehouse Tastings
Join a member of our team in our warehouse for a range tasting straight from the cask. Samples will be taken from 3 different cask types individually selected by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
£20 (no pre-booking required)
12 places per visit
Tutored Range Tastings
Taste the range of Kilchoman releases including the Feis Ile 2017 bottling with a member of the Kilchoman team. You will be guided through each of your drams and given information on the background and future developments at Islay’s only farm distillery, producing single malt whisky from barley to bottle.
Available regularly throughout the day.
£10 (no booking required)
Malting & Peating (New Malt Floor) 12-4pm
Join our Brand Ambassador and Distillery Guide, Cherry, on our malt floor to discuss the Malting and Peating process in detail over a dram of 100% Islay. Cherry has completed the IBD course in Malting and has a great knowledge and passion for the science of germination.
Available from 12noon-4pm (no booking required)
12 places per visit
Live Music from 10.30am – 5pm (Old Malt Floor)
Trail West, Heron Valley, Reely Jiggered, Islay Pipe Band
Available throughout the day
Whisky Bar, Kilchoman Cocktails, Tastings, BBQ, Café and Gift Shop
All bookings must be made by calling +44(0)1496 850 011
All tickets are non-refundable.
Whilst we hope that you continue to enjoy our 2017 limited editions well into the festive period, we are delighted to say that we’ve saved something special for December. The 6th Edition Club Release will be available exclusively to Club Members from noon (GMT) on Wednesday the 6th of December.
This year’s club release is a cask strength (57.4%) vatting of five ten-year-old bourbon barrels, all distilled 01/11/2007, bottled 20/11/2017. The casks were individually selected by Kilchoman Founder Anthony Wills and represent his idea of the perfect Kilchoman 10-year-old.
“For me personally, Kilchoman is best when matured in fresh bourbon barrels, the lighter influence of the American oak makes for a more harmonious marriage between cask and spirit. This allows for Kilchoman’s natural floral citrus character to develop and integrate with that of the bourbon oak flavours”
These casks are like our crown jewels, we have few casks over ten years old so need to be very selective with when they are bottled. These being fresh barrels, are at their peak now, the balance is fantastic and they are some of the very best Kilchoman casks I’ve tasted’
The release of just 1241 bottles is exclusively available to Kilchoman Club members via the Kilchoman website, priced at £99.00 per bottle (70cl). Due to the number of bottles, members are limited to one bottle per person, sorry!
Set a reminder for Wednesday and once you have signed in you will see the Club Release image in your members homepage. Alternatively, sign in, click on ‘whisky shop’ then ‘club releases’.
Those who have purchased a Club release in the past will know that the volume of people on the website can cause a few issues and the page to be very slow at times. We have done what we can to make sure this is avoided but please be patient and once the initial traffic clears you will be able to freely navigate the website.
Whilst we wish we could ship the Club Release to all countries around the world, unfortunately we are limited to those detailed here.
Launching worldwide next week, the 2009 Vintage eight year old limited edition is our oldest globally-available release to date.
Though the casks selected for the 2009 Vintage were mostly distilled in 2009, a number of 2008 casks were also selected to add further layers of maturation.
The specific casks, chosen by Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder, are mostly a combination of fresh and refill bourbon barrels though Anthony also selected three 2008 Oloroso sherry butts to add additional layers of rich cooked fruits to balance with the lighter citrus and vanilla of the bourbon barrels. All previous Vintage expressions have been matured exclusively in bourbon barrels.
Nose: lemon, citrus and butterscotch notes are prominent with soft peaty aromas in the background.
Palate: soft sweetness first and peat smoke and ripe fruit notes following.
Finish: long, clean and sweet with peat smoke and soft fruits at the end.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director; “The evolution of Kilchoman single malt is well represented through our Vintage range. Now at eight years of maturation, the balance and depth of character coming through on both the nose and the palate is incredible. The oloroso sherry influence in the 2009 Vintage compared to the previous releases has given this whisky a different dimension with layered fruit and added sweet notes.”
The 2009 Vintage is bottled at 46% ABV and will be available worldwide from the 4th of September. Contact your local whisky shop to reserve a bottle, this one is not to be missed! A limited number of bottles will also be available from the Kilchoman website from midday (GMT) on Monday the 4th of September priced at £67.50. Limited to one bottle per person.
The guys from The Great Islay Swim dropped by the distillery yesterday for a chat and a few drams with Anthony. Chad and Justin, who both hail from New York, are attempting to swim around Islay, stopping at each distillery to collect a ration of whisky as they go. The 100 litre cask which will be filled by the time they finish their swim, will be bottled as The Pillage Blend and sold in aid of the RNLI. An epic challenge and a fantastic cause!
Find out more about their swim and The Pillage Blend here https://greatislayswim.com You can also follow Chad and Justin on social media – #greatislayswim
Over the last few months we have been making a few improvements at Kilchoman. One of the most major upgrades is the construction of our new Kiln and Malt Floor, this will allow us to double the capacity for malting our own barley by 50% taking us from 2 tonne batches to 3. There will also be the option to expand the Malt floor again if needs be. This purpose built building stands proudly opposite the Still House and overlooking our Barley fields.
The second improvement is to extend our current bottling hall, this now means that it will be a straight line and a far better height for the team to work. Every bottle of Kilchoman is bottled on site and our Single Casks are still hand labelled. At Kilchoman we are only one of two Distilleries on Islay who bottle their Single Malt on the Island.
The Wills brothers are off on another mission to spread the word of Kilchoman, this year their journey takes them up the west coast of the US. Starting in LA on September 4th, George and Peter will load up the Kilchoman Land Rover and head north. Travelling through California, Oregon and Washington the brothers will host sixteen official tastings (and countless unofficial tastings), concluding in Seattle on September 15th.
The1500-mile tour will be celebrated with an exclusive Cask Strength bottling of the distillery’s flagship expression, Machir Bay. The limited-edition release of just 840 bottles will be available exclusively during tasting events and from those stores visited as they wind their way north.
Have a look at the map in the link for more information on when and where you can catch the tour events
