It is beginning to warm up here on Islay and the days are stretching, the flocks of barnacle and white fronted geese that arrived on the island in October for the winter, have now started their long journey back to Greenland for the summer. Their departure marks the start of Spring and with it, we begin the familiar timetable of ploughing the fields and sowing barley, fingers crossed that the weather will play its part and allow us to harvest a good yield of barley come late summer.
This year we have sown 96 acres of Concerto barley, with a small pocket of 10 acres dedicated to testing a new barley variety, for us, called Laureate. Concerto has for a long time been our go-to barley variety; it has served us well, coping with Islay’s notoriously changeable wind, weather conditions and salty climate to deliver very consistent results. Barley varieties are however continuously evolving and we have high hope for Laureate.
The barley we grow here at Kilchoman is used exclusively to distill our 100% Islay expression. For us, our 100% Islay philosophy is about replicating the grass root traditions of farm distilling both in Scotland but especially on Islay. From the very birth of Kilchoman, our 100% Islay range was our reason for being; it represented the revival of malt whisky produced on a single location from barley to bottle, where the responsibility for the quality and consistency at each stage was not outsourced but completed on site with skill, care and attention to detail. We are proud to be the only Islay distillery producing single malt whisky from barley grown and malted on Islay. You can almost follow the trail of grain from the fields to the malt floor.
With the imminent arrival of our 7th Edition 100% Islay it would seem a good time to explain our 100% Islay philosophy. For us, the 100% Islay ethos is about replicating the grass root traditions of farm distilling both in Scotland but especially on Islay. From the very birth of Kilchoman, our 100% Islay range was our reason for being; it represented the revival of single malt whisky produced on a single location from barley to bottle, where the responsibility for the quality and consistency at each stage was not outsourced but completed on site with skill, care and attention to detail. We are proud to be the only Islay distillery distilling single malt from barley both grown and malted on Islay. Not to mention distilling, maturing and bottling it here at Kilchoman as well. Look out for more info on the 7th Edition 100% Islay in the next few weeks! View our Barley to Bottle animation here.
Here at the distillery, we have been working to bring you some new and interesting events at this year’s Feis Ile Open Day.
We have arranged Masterclasses and experiences 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 at our distillery.
Kilchoman’s Feis Ile Open Day is Thursday 1st June 2017.
Monday 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 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking)
15 places available
Tuesday 30th 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 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking)
15 places available
Wednesday 31st 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 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking)
15 places available
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Distillery Tours at 9.45am, 11am, 2pm & 3pm | £7pp
Premium Tour at 11.30am | £30pp
Booking Advisable
Thursday 1st June | 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.
£50 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking-includes your 70cl bottle of Machir Bay)
12 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.
£50 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking-includes your 70cl bottle of Machir Bay)
12 places available
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. Including a tour of the barley fields and other parts of the farm where you can enjoy a dram of our 100% Islay in one of the fields of a future dram while taking in the spectacular views over the farm and beyond.
£30 (non-refundable deposit of £10 payable on booking)
15 places available
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 by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
£50 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking-includes your 70cl bottle of Machir Bay)
12 places available
The Vatting Masterclass 1pm
Come along and join distillery founder, Anthony Wills for an in-depth discussion and tasting focusing on how he creates the Kilchoman Single Malts. You will sample whisky from a variety of different cask types, strengths, fills and ages then be guided through the process of making a batch release with a behind the scenes insight into the day-to-day life of Kilchoman’s master distiller.
Each person will be supplied with five 5cl sample bottles containing a selection of handpickedsingle cask samples to create their own 20cl vatted malt which they can label and take home to enjoy!
£120 (non-refundable deposit of £50 payable on booking)
50 places available
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.
£50 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking-includes your 70cl bottle of Machir Bay)
12 places available
Club Members’ Masterclass 2pm
Join George, James and Peter at this masterclass exclusively for Club Members. Seated on the Maltfloor you will be able to taste some of our first releases which are no longer available. You will have the opportunity to talk freely with the boys who have been working alongside their parents, Anthony and Kathy, at Kilchoman since the very beginning and have many interesting stories to tell.
£40 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking)
50 places available
Islay’s Farm Tour 2pm
General Manager, Islay Heads will give you a guided tour of how the Distillery and farm work in harmony. Including a tour of the barley fields and other parts of the farm where you can enjoy a dram of 100% Islay in one of the fields of a future dram while taking in the spectacular views over the farm and beyond.
£30 (non-refundable deposit of £10 payable on booking)
15 places available
Be a Bottler 3.30pm
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 by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
£50 (non-refundable deposit of £20 payable on booking-includes your 70cl bottle of Machir Bay)
12 places available
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 4 different cask types individually selected by Robin Bignal, the Distillery Manager.
£20 (no pre-booking required)
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)
Live Music from 10.30am – 5pm
Trail West, Islay Pipe Band, The Blueswater and Reely Jiggered
Available throughout the day
BBQ, bar, cafe, gift shop and whisky!
All bookings must be made by calling +44(0)1496 850 011
A non-refundable deposit will be taken for each event booked.
Spring has finally arrived here on Islay and our flock of black face sheep are due to lamb in mid April. All have been scanned and we are happy with the percentage of those in lamb, fingers crossed for a period of good weather in the next 4-5 weeks to ensure that the lambs get the best possible start. The farmers are checking the sheep daily, keeping a close eye on them for any issues.
Over the last couple of months we have been busy identifying the fields that we will use to grow barley in this year. The fields have all been soil sampled and will be fertilised and limed to ensure that the barley has all the nutrients that it needs to grow the best possible crop.
We will start ploughing in the next few days. Some of the other farms on the island have been busy ploughing but we have a light sandy soil that could blow if we get a dry and windy spell of weather prior to sowing. We will not sow the barley until mid April as the barnacle and white fronted geese will not be leaving the island until then. If we sow too early they will take the seed and leave nothing. This year the barley crop will be mainly Concerto which has a proven track record with us but this year we are going to try about 10 acres of a new variety called Sienna.
The winter this year has not been too bad weather wise and not particularly wet until recently when we had a deluge of rain and the water from the field drains came over the road to the distillery, this does not happen very often and led to some speedy repairs in order that staff and visitors could get to and from the distillery.
All the preparations are in place, all we need now is a little cooperation from the weather….
To kick off our 2017 limited editions we are delighted to announce that this years Loch Gorm release will be available from next week, Monday the 3rd of April.
Loch Gorm is the name given to our annually bottled sherry cask matured limited edition. The loch is located to the north of the distillery and is very dark and peaty in colour, similar to the dark rich colour of our sherry cask matured single malt.
The much anticipated 2017 edition is the sixth and oldest instalment of the range, having been matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry butts filled in 2009.
With the majority of our whisky being matured in ex bourbon barrels, Loch Gorm is the only release to be maturated exclusively in Oloroso sherry casks, only 13,500 bottles will be available worldwide. Like many of our expressions, Loch Gorm releases have been evolving over the years and this, the 2017 edition, is the oldest yet. This extra maturation has afforded it a full-bodied richness which combines with the peat smoke and fruity flavours typical of Kilchoman to create a truly unique Islay single malt.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director; “Loch Gorm is undoubtedly assertive however in the midst of its distinctive peat smoke and sherry character it retains a certain finesse and subtlety.”
Loch Gorm 2017 is bottled at 46% ABV and as with all our Kilchoman single malts, it is non chill filtered and natural colour allowing for all it’s full bodied character to shine through. Loch Gorm will be available from Kilchoman retailers worldwide next week. A limited number of bottles will also be available directly from the Kilchoman website at 12 noon on Monday 3rd of April priced at £69.00. Due to the limited number of bottles, purchases from our website are limited to one bottle per person.
Official tasting notes, Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2017
Colour: Rich mahogany.
Nose: Orange and lemon notes, rich smoky peat and cooked fruit.
Palate: Rich chocolate, cinnamon and cloves combined with peat smoke.
Finish: Long and full bodied with a balance of sweet smoke.
The most recent vatting of Machir Bay was selected from the warehouse last week. We carefully choose a variety of ex bourbon and sherry casks for each vatting. Machir Bay is made up of predominantly ex bourbon matured barrels, both fresh and refill, with a small amount of oloroso sherry casks used to add balance and richness to the release. Each year the general maturation of the Machir Bay is evolving as the distillery grows. The pressure is now on for this next vatting to win as many awards as the previous!
