We are delighted to announce planning permission has been received to build a rum distillery on the island of Barbados.

9 acres of land and a derelict mansion house were purchased at Bentley Mansion in the Parish of St. Philip in August 2021.   The plan is to erect buildings to house the distillery, mill and cask warehouse, purchase sugar cane from the fields surrounding Bentley Mansion, crush it on site and produce rum from sugar cane juice and cane syrup.

Production will be from two copper pot stills followed by maturation and bottling on site.

Anthony Wills will be teaming up with Frank Ward, former Mount Gay Managing Director, who will be consulting on the project and advising on specific rum production methods. This will offer a combination of existing expertise in single malt whisky production and Mr Ward’s vast knowledge in rum production.

Kilchoman have developed a network of distributors around the world and plan to utilise the same distributors for our premium rum.

Anthony Wills commented, “this is an exciting development for Kilchoman and we look forward to sharing more news as the project takes shape”

Click here and join our Kilchoman Club to keep up to date with what is going on and to be amongst the first to know about new releases

Kilchoman and Land Rover are collaborating for the launch of the new Classic Defender Works V8 Islay Edition. The exterior look of the car has been inspired by a 1965 Land Rover Series IIa (registration GXC 639C) formerly owned by Spencer Wilks, one of the founders of Land Rover, and now forms part of Land Rover Classic’s Collection. The vehicle features a bespoke centre cubby box reusing wood from Kilchoman whisky casks.

Islay has played a significant role in the development of Land Rover since the 1940s. Spencer Wilks, Managing Director of The Rover Group as it was then, owned the Laggan Estate on the island and used it for off road vehicle development and testing. In 1947 he was seen driving a heavily modified Rover around the island by the local gamekeeper who remarked ‘that must be a Land-Rover sir’. The name stuck. That development culminated in the launch of the Land Rover Series 1 at the Amsterdam motor show in 1948.

There is a special link between our two companies, Kathy Wills, who still lives at Laggan and founded Kilchoman Distillery with husband, Anthony, is the granddaughter of Spencer Wilks.

In collaboration with Land Rover, a limited edition Pedro Ximénez release has been bottled exclusively for the launch of the Land Rover Islay Edition. Selected by Kathy and Anthony Wills, just 639 bottles have been released, the same number that appears on the original Land Rover registration. Each vehicle will come with a complimentary bottle, however, if don’t fancy spending £230,000 on a Land Rover then bottles (without the vehicle) are also available through The Whisky Exchange.

“Land Rovers are synonymous with my childhood, I have fond memories of driving around the island in all sorts of Land Rover prototypes and it’s great that Land Rover still recognise those links, both to my grandfather and to the Island of Islay.

PX sherry matured Kilchoman was the perfect choice for this bottling, there’s nothing better on a wet Islay day then a dram of PX matured Kilchoman at 51.4% abv”

Kathy Wills, Kilchoman Co-Founder.

Following on from the success of the Fino Sherry Cask Matured Limited Release in 2020, the first global release of that cask type from Kilchoman, a 2023 limited release is now hitting shelves around the world again.

On Anthony & Kathy’s visit to Jerez earlier this year, they were able to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of how Fino Sherry is produced and matured.

What is Fino Sherry?

Fino Sherry is a type of dry sherry that comes from the Jerez region of southern Spain.  It is made using the palomino grape variety, which is grown in the unique albariza soil of the region.  The unique feature of Fino Sherry is that it is aged biologically under a layer of yeast known as ‘velo de flor’.  This layer protects the wine from oxidation and imparts a distinctive delicate, fresh, dry and nutty flavour and aroma.

Manzanilla is another sherry type that is matured biologically but it has to be matured in Sanlucar de Barrameda, next to the sea, meaning the climate conditions will be different from fino casks maturing in Jerez for example, all of which influences the maturation process.

In Sanlucar de Barrameda the temperature remains cooler and fresher, even in the summer months.  The Atlantic Sea breeze keeps things fresher and cooler, resulting in a thicker flor being maintained throughout the year.  Manzanilla sherries will be paler in colour and more delicate on the nose.

Fino Sherry Maturation

Just like any other living organism, the yeast responsible for creating the flor needs a series of conditions in order to develop and survive.

–Temperature and humidity – the flor requires mild temperatures and a high level of humidity.  During the summer months in Jerez, extra care and attention has to be given to the maturing fino sherries.  The layer of flor will become thinner due to the rise in temperature, so there is more interaction with the oak and increased oxidation.  To continue as a fino sherry, that layer of flor has to be maintained throughout its full maturation.  When the temperature outside can be as high as 40 degrees Celsius, essential steps are taken to keep the warehouse as cool as possible, for example, the warehouse floor will be watered to keep it cooler, fresher and more humid inside the bodega.

-Oxygen – the velo de flor needs a certain amount of oxygen for its survival, therefore the butts cannot be totally sealed or filled.

-Alcohol – to survive, the alcohol must remain between 15-16%

The Solera System

The solera system plays an important role in the ageing of the wine.  The flor requires a constant supply of nutrients and oxygen to survive.  To maintain the system, the same amount of wine that is removed from the bottom row for bottling has to be replaced with the same quantity of wine from the cask on the row above, and so on.  This technique provides micro-nutrients and specific quantities of oxygen which stimulate the regeneration and growth of the velo de flor.  The yeast respiration quickly depletes this oxygen supply, leaving the wine once again protected under the flor.

Fino Sherry is gaining popularity around the world as a unique and versatile wine with a distinctive flavour profile.  It’s recommended to be served chilled as an aperitif or alongside seafood or tapas, it was certainly a big hit with Kathy and Anthony!

So what influences do we get on our whisky when we mature in fino sherry casks?

Fino Sherry is a light, dry type of sherry, originating from the Jerez region in southern Spain. Fino is produced from the Palomino grape variety. Due to Fino being more delicate than Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez, the grapes used to produce Fino are grown in top-quality soils such as the chalky albariza marls. Once the grapes are ready to harvest, they are picked and fermented into a light wine which is then fortified with distilled wine, reaching approximately 15% abv.  It is then aged under a layer of yeast, known as ‘velo de flor’ to prevent contact with the air, minimising the risk of oxidation. The casks used during this ageing process are American oak butts which are stored using the traditional solera system in the bodega. The average maturation sits between 4 – 7 years. When using these casks at Kilchoman for maturing our spirit, flavour profiles of yeast, dough and almonds can easily be identified while also providing a rich saline profile with hints of fresh herbs.

Kilchoman Fino Sherry Cask Matured 2023 Limited Release

The Fino Sherry Cask Matured 2023 Limited Edition becomes Kilchoman’s second ever release to be matured in ex Fino Sherry Casks. Anthony and Robin hand-selected a total of 20 Fino Sherry Butts of which the spirit was distilled in 2018 and aged for a minimum of five years.

Nose: Elegant, dry peat smoke on the initial nosing, gradually opens to the unmistakable fruity character of Kilchoman. The distinct influence from the Fino Sherry casks provides dry, smoked oak which balances with the smoke found in the heavily peated Kilchoman malt. A lasting aroma of sweet butterscotch as the whisky begins to open.

Palate: Honeycomb sweetness can be found immediately on the palate, gradually giving way to rich toffee and caramel. The Kilchoman spirit brings together candied fruits and the fresh citrus found in the distillation. Flaked almonds and a delicate peat smoke remain throughout.

Finish: Long-lasting considered finish combining the malty spirit of Kilchoman, with the ripened citrus fruit profile provided by the Fino Sherry casks. A subtle peat smoke which has coated the palate right through now shares the finish with hints of dark chocolate.

“The Fino Sherry maturation works incredibly well with our classic Kilchoman character. The 2023 release elevates the fragrant green apple, stewed fruits and sweet citrus while allowing for the unmistakeable Kilchoman peat smoke to linger on the palate. Fino is another example of sherry casks working together, not against, our Kilchoman spirit,”

Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder

Click here for more information about our Fino Sherry Cask Matured Limited Edition Release.

Carol-Ann and I set off from Scotland on the 25^th April to pick up the Land Rover in Frankfurt and begin the Germany leg of the European Tour, following on from a successful first week in Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands with James and George.

We arrived with no issues and got ourselves set for the week ahead. Working with the team at Hanseatische, we had a full week of events and tastings planned. First up was a pouring event at Whisky For Life where the Land Rover attracted in a fair number, or maybe it was the tour bottling! We then had a rather large tasting of 11 drams at Whisky Spirits – not for the faint hearted! A good first day and it was then off to Dortmund.  Weinhaus Hilgering was the venue for our next pouring event. Again, the tour bottling and a sneak preview of the Cognac and Fino Cask Matured releases went down well with everyone. The next day was our drive to Hamburg and this was when the Land Rover decided that it was time to take a break (sorry for anyone expecting to see us arriving in it when instead we arrived in the Hanseatische company car!). Many faults with Land Rover has seen it go out of action for the foreseeable – we’re hoping we can get it back on the road soon. I’d like to note that although Catherine is telling everyone that it was me who broke it, I promise I didn’t! It made for a good story at least. Once we arrived, Men’s Needs hosted the afternoon session followed by Weinquelle Lühmann. Carol-Ann’s last stop was in Berlin where we had a pouring session in KaDeWe followed by a tasting at Whisky and Cigars; two completely different tastings but the love for Kilchoman was certainly felt!

Carol-Ann departed Berlin and I was joined by Catherine for the next leg of the tour. Before moving onto the next country, we had a seven-hour drive to Munich to meet the team at Tara Spirits for our next event. Now we had a Ford hire-van, we weren’t nearly as noticeable as we made our way to Munich – unfortunately at this point we had no word about the Land Rover being back on the road.

From Munich, we made our way to Austria where we stopped off in Vienna at Potstill and Graz at Dr Bottle, finishing with a tasting with The Islay Whisky Chapter group. Between Germany and Austria, we were receiving incredible feedback for the distillery, the team, our upcoming projects and the whiskies we were sampling! It was great to catch up with some familiar faces at this point too.

Departing Graz, we made our way to Bratislava where we met with the Svet Nápojov team to host an in-store sampling before heading across to The Izzi Pub for our tasting. Peter managed to organise a tasting for those in the venue but also for those online – a great turnout and a night that made a lot smile.

At this point, we considered ourselves to be a dab hand at driving, though when we made it to Budapest, the parking was nearly as bad as trying to park on Bowmore main street! WhiskyNet did an incredible job of the event in GoodSpirit bar. Both the afternoon and evening sessions were packed out and the new make spirit samples and distillery live-stream were a hit.

Our last stop was Croatia; a taxi hire to get to Zagreb by midday (if you couldn’t tell, the Land Rover still hadn’t made a comeback as of yet). We were welcomed by a full house at Fine Stvari and then at the Esplanade Hotel later that evening. It was Catherine and I’s first time in Zagreb, and we were made to feel at home straight away.

After two weeks on the road, we completely felt the love for Kilchoman. We caught up with long-time fans of the distillery alongside some who have just started getting into whisky and trying Kilchoman for the first time. The tour bottling, Cognac and Fino Matured Cask Matured releases and to be honest, the full range, all went down incredibly well over our 2-week journey across Europe. Catherine and I had a fantastic time on the road (and a great laugh too) – and so a huge thanks to all of the venues that hosted us and to all that attended the events – what a trip!

After a 4am hotel departure for our flight back to Scotland, we’ve handed over to Peter and Antea who are Slovenia and Italy for the week ahead.

Be sure to tag @kilchomanwhisky in any photos!

Slainte,
Chloe

The first of our limited-edition cask expressions in 2023 have now launched! The vattings for both Cognac Cask Matured and Fino Sherry Cask Matured took place in March earlier this year with casks being tasted and hand selected by Anthony Wills and Robin Bignal at Kilchoman Distillery on the Isle of Islay. Now bottled and shipped directly from Islay, you should begin to see bottles in your nearest retailer appearing shortly!

The Cognac Cask Matured is a vatting of 32 Cognac casks sourced from Tonellerie Bossuet (France). The 2023 limited edition sees our heavily peated spirit spend its full maturation in Cognac casks for a minimum of six years. During its maturation, the spirit has captured the herbaceous, sweet spice from the Cognac casks which balances with our citrus-fruit led spirit, allowing the maritime Kilchoman peat smoke to subtly shine through.

“The limited-edition cask exploration editions allow us to experiment with our spirit here at Kilchoman. The Cognac casks selected for this 2023 release permit our fruit-driven, citrus spirit style to balance with that of the Cognac oak. There is a delicate balance to be found when working with Cognac casks; keeping the age of this release at a minimum of six years old ensures the flavours from the spirit and the cask are easily detected, neither dominates,” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.

Cognac is a variety of brandy which has been produced from a distilled white wine. Cognac must be twice distilled (using copper pot stills) and aged for a minimum of two years in French oak barrels (typically Limousin). To firstly produce the white wine, the grapes are grown in specific designated growing regions and harvested towards the end of the year, typically around October. The grapes are then pressed and fermented, naturally without the addition of sugar, reaching 9%abv. This is then twice distilled in copper pot stills with the heart of the distillation transferred to the above-mentioned oak barrels for maturation.  A minimum maturation period of two years is required. The Cognac casks used at Kilchoman have been purchased from Bossuet Cooperage in France originating from a single Cognac house. These 300 bulk litre casks have worked incredibly well with our spirit imparting flavour profiles such as dried fruits, toffee and warm spices.

The 2023 Fino Sherry Cask Matured limited edition is a vatting of 20 Fino Sherry Butts, previously used by Bodega Jose y Miguel Martin (Spain). Our Kilchoman spirit has matured fully, for a minimum of five years in Fino. During its maturation, the spirit has developed a dry salinity which is balanced with a green fresh fruit influence and elongated delicate peat smoke.

“The Fino Sherry maturation works incredibly well with our classic Kilchoman character. The 2023 release elevates the fragrant green apple, stewed fruits and sweet citrus while allowing for the unmistakeable Kilchoman peat smoke to linger on the palate. Fino is another example of sherry casks working together, not against, our Kilchoman spirit,” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.

Fino sherry is a light, dry type of Sherry, originating from the Jerez region in southern Spain. Fino is produced from the Palomino grape variety. Due to Fino being more delicate than Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez, the grapes used to produce Fino are grown in top-quality soils such as the chalky albariza marls. Once the grapes are ready to harvest, they are picked and fermented into a light wine which is then fortified with distilled wine, reaching approximately 15% abv.  It is then aged under a layer of yeast, known as ‘velo de flor’ to prevent contact with the air, minimising the risk of oxidation. The casks used during this ageing process are American oak butts which are stored using the traditional solera system in the bodega. The average maturation sits between 4 – 7 years. When using these casks at Kilchoman for maturing our spirit, flavour profiles of yeast, dough and almonds can easily be identified while also providing a rich saline profile with hints of fresh herbs.

Cognac & Fino Cask Matured will be available from your regular Kilchoman stockists around the world from this week.

For more information email info@kilchomandistillery.com

Click here to become a Kilchoman Club Member and be one of the first to hear about all our future releases and other news from the distillery.

From Sunday 14^th May,  we are delighted to say that we will be opening 7 days per week from 9.45 to 5pm each day.  Our staff have been very busy over the Winter months getting everything ready and we can’t wait to welcome old and new friends back for what we hope will be an action filled summer of tasting, tours and lots of Kilchoman whisky chat. We have some new tastings to share with you and some old favourites making a come-back.

In addition to our tasting bar, our on-site café is open daily,  from 10am to 4.30pm serving delicious home-baked cakes, teas and coffee. Lunches are served from 12noon to 3.30pm each day. Our Cullen Skink is world famous, so booking is advisable as tables fill up very quickly.

Our Café and Visitor Centre are dog friendly, and we love to welcome all your four-legged companions.  Please advise when booking tables in the café if you are bringing your pet along with you as spaces are limited.

For information on available tours and tastings, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you all this summer,

Kilchoman Visitor Centre Team.

🏅🏅The 2023 Award season is now underway and we are delighted to share the news that Sanaig was awarded ‘Double Gold’ and Machir Bay ‘Gold’ at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Sanaig is a vatting of both oloroso sherry and bourbon casks. The high proportion of oloroso sherry influence adds a balance of dried fruits and spices to classic Kilchoman citrus sweetness and peat smoke character.  Sourcing casks of the highest quality is at the forefront of what we do at Kilchoman.  These bourbon barrels were sourced directly from Buffalo Trace Distillery, Kentucky, USA and the oloroso sherry casks, as with all our sherry casks, have come from Bodega José y Miguel Martin in Jerez, Spain.

Anthony & Kathy Wills recently visited Jerez and spent some time with Miguel.  The care and attention to detail that goes into making these casks and the sherry they produce is amazing.  Click here to find out more about the visit.

In contrast to Sanaig, Machir Bay is predominantly matured in bourbon casks.  With a vatting of 90% bourbon barrels and 10% oloroso sherry casks, the result is a whisky full of citrus sweetness, cooked fruits and maritime peat smoke.  The high proportion of bourbon barrels creates a distinct balance of classic Islay character and fresh floral complexity.

Click here to find out more about Machir Bay and Sanaig, as well as our other releases.

George and I started our week on tour with a 17 hour journey from Scotland to Luxembourg.  I set off at 4am, collected George on my way south and reached Massen in northern Luxembourg at about 9pm that evening.  No drama with the Land Rover or customs checks. A successful first day.

If you’ve ever been to Massen then you’ll know that it is no ordinary whisky shop, we had a great day pouring at the final day of their whisky festival before heading off to Belgium.  During that week, we must have zigzagged across Belgium three or four times.  Did anyone see us on the motorway?? There’s a prize for the first person who gets a picture of the Land Rover mid-journey and tags us in the picture!

What was originally planned as short stops to drop some tour bottles during the day, turned into mini-tasting, even if it was 10am.  The evening events were brilliant, loads of enthusiastic whisky lovers, some recently turned-on to Kilchoman and plenty of fully-fledged Kilchoman super-fans.  Everyone loved the whiskies, the tour bottling in particular was a huge hit (so were the Cognac and Fino Matured pre-release samples hidden in the Land Rover… ask Chloe and Carol-Ann if you see them this week).

The live calls with the stillhouse team were great with two exceptions…. The time Russel did a tour upside-down and the time one lady took a big drink of what she thought was water which turned out to be our 63.5% new make which took her a little bit by surprise!

 From there we drove north to the Netherlands for three days of events, eventually getting to our changeover point of Frankfurt airport late on Sunday… once we had negotiated the autobahn and a burning lorry in the middle of the highway.

Hartelijk bedankt!  See you next time!

 James

When looking to try a scotch whisky, we’re lucky to be exposed to an array of flavours, aromas, and styles from all over the country but what are the whisky regions of Scotland and how do they impact the style of spirit being produced?

Whisky – be it any style – is produced in many areas across Scotland from East to West, to North to South. The history, quality and volume of the spirit produced has meant that Scotland is one of the most desired countries in the world of whisky. Within Scotland, we’re able to break up the areas producing scotch whisky into five regions (with one sub-region): Islay, Highlands, Speyside, Lowlands and Campbeltown (and the Islands). Each region traditionally produces distinct characteristics making them individual from others in the surrounding land. Historically, the region not only defined where the scotch was being produced but also its style. An example of generalised flavour profiles found within each region of Scotland can be found below:

• Islay – driven by heavily-peated, smoky styles – often intense, maritime, dry smoke is found
• Highlands – less peaty with a sweeter, drier influence
• Speyside – very little or no peat influence, more fruit and sweeter style
• Lowlands – often lighter with no peat influence
• Campbeltown – rich in character, can be relatively peated
• Islands – not an official region but can be considered a sub-region of the Highlands, producing maritime, less peated styles

Looking at the above list, it asks the question; is this still the best way to determine the flavour profiles found when specifically looking at Single Malt Whisky? It could be argued that the region that the distillery is based within, primarily determines the location more than the profile of whisky being produced.

If we take the region of Islay as an example, as stated, heavily-peated whiskies are what the island is known traditionally for producing, but from the 9 currently operating Islay distilleries on the island, we know that we also have un-peated and lightly-peated malts being released with further experiments taking place. This is a positive for anyone looking to enjoy Islay whisky but also looking to develop their palate.

Let’s look at the Isle of Islay a little closer; the island of Islay can be found on the southernmost of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides and is known to many as the ‘Queen of the Hebrides’ with an approximate population of +3200 people currently based on the island. Due to the long-standing history of distilling on the island, the quality of the spirits and their distinctive flavour characteristics, it is quite rightly noted as its own region.

When it comes to the climate and landscape of Islay, it’s as unique as each of the Scottish islands. The island is largely comprised of peat bogs which is one of the main reasons distilleries produce a heavily-peated style of single malt on the island. The source of the peat has a significant influence on the barley used to produce single malt whisky – you can read more about that here. Distilling on Islay dates back hundreds of years. Some of the most well-known, still in operation, older Islay distilleries would be Bowmore, Lagavulin and Laphroaig. From these distilleries alone, we’re exposed to a distinct style of heavily-peated single malt. As time has gone by, several of the Islay distilleries have begun to experiment with their profiles of single malt. We’re now exposed to a multitude of flavours, each defining each distillery in its own right. You’re able to find single malt created from un-peated malt (0-3ppm), heavily peated (30-55ppm) and super-heavily peated (80-309ppm) all from the one island!

At Kilchoman we know that using the Islay name symbolises more than just having the distillery based on Islay. The reason Kilchoman was established was to bring back the traditional method of producing Single Malt; from barley to bottle, on the very island the distillery is built on. Yes, we produce a heavily-peated spirit – our 50ppm house style is a nod to that classic peated Islay style – but we also focus a proportion on lightly peated, 100% Islay-grown, sitting at 20ppm – you can check out our latest 100% Islay 12^th Edition, here. Anthony and the team at the distillery want to give you a taste of that definitive Islay peat smoke but with a newfound elegance and balance, bringing citrus-sweet spirit influence alongside a malt-driven profile. Kilchoman is the only Single Farm Single Malt scotch whisky distillery on the island who focus on every element of production, from growing the barley on our own farm and seeing this through to bottling on-site. It’s a balance to ensure we maintain the rich history that Islay has rightly acquired over the years while capturing this in our own, unique way.

Click here and join our Kilchoman Club to keep up to date with what is going on at Kilchoman and to be amongst the first to know about new releases 

The countdown is on for Fèis Ìle 2023!  Kilchoman Fèis Day 2023 is on Thursday 1^st June.  After our biggest fèis to date in 2022, we’re excited to be underway with planning for this year.

We have been busy selecting a range of special drams and cask samples for the masterclass events as well as planning various tours, activities, live music and entertainment which will take place throughout the day.  And of course, there will be our Fèis Ìle 2023 release which will be available from the distillery shop only (limited to one bottle per person). £120 per bottle (70cl), approx 1159 bottles.

All the Masterclasses and a selection of events and tours can be booked in advance, click here for full details and availability.

MASTERCLASS EVENTS

• 10:30 – Founder’s Cask Tasting with Anthony Wills (Open to Club Members only, sign up here)
• 12:00 – Barley Varieties Exploration Tasting with James Wills and Chloe Wood
• 14:00 – Live Online Tasting with Anthony & Peter Wills – Tasting Packs available to purchase from our online shop 
• 14:30 – Past, Present & Future Tasting with George Wills and Antea Allegro

Book Here

BOOKABLE EVENTS

• Be A Bottler – 9:30, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:30 (includes a personalised bottle of a Distillery Exclusive Single Cask).
• Islay’s Farm Tour – 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 – Islay Heads, General Manager, will take you on a guided tour around the farm and local area, sampling a few drams along the way!
• Range Tastings – we will be running these short guided tastings of 4 core range whiskies regularly throughout the day (Tickets can be bought on the day at the bar).

Book Here

EXPLORE

All our main production areas will be open and operational throughout the day so it’s a great chance to see everything in action and have time to chat to the experts that work at each stage, these include;

• Still House – chat with the still house team while taking a look at our stills in action. Enjoy a dram of Machir Bay on us and learn more about where the flavours you’re tasting come from.  Take the opportunity to ask the team all your questions about the mashing, fermentation and distillation stages.
• Malt Floor – discover the ancient art of traditional floor malting, learn more about peat, see the kiln, try turning the malt yourself and enjoy a dram of 100% Islay which has been produced from barley malted on this very floor.
• Warehouse No.4 – explore one of our traditional dunnage warehouses, take a picture with Cask No.1 and enjoy a wee dram of Sanaig while chatting to the team about our maturation programme and the cask types currently in the warehouses at Kilchoman.
• Barley Fields – stop off at the field gates as you come down the drive to the distillery and see the progress of the 2023 barley varieties, Sassy and Planet.

EATING, DRINKING, DANCING & SHOPPING

• The Whisky Bar will be serving a selection of past and present drams of Kilchoman limited editions, Comraich Batches and Single Casks. Driver dram bottles will also be available
• Cocktail Bar – our friends from The Malt Room Bar in Inverness have created whisky cocktails which will be available from the bar throughout the day, fingers crossed for cocktail weather.
• Live music throughout the day in the Music Marquee from Atlantic Reel, Rollin’ Drones and The Kilchoman Distillery Isle of Islay Pipe Band. Bring your dancing shoes for a boogie in the courtyard!
• BBQ with delicious local meats, light bites from the Salad Bar, teas, coffees and home baking from the Café. Vegetarian and vegan options will be available.
• All the branded gear you could ever want from the Distillery Shop
• Games & Activities with various prizes

WHISKY SHOP

The whisky shop will be open from 10am stocking all our recent Limited Editions, the latest Distillery Shop Exclusive Single Casks and of course, our very special Fèis ìle 2023 bottling.

FÈIS ÌLE 2023 BOTTLING

The Fèis Ìle 2023 Release is a vatting of three casks distilled from Publican barley grown, malted and distilled at Kilchoman in 2011 and 2012.  Kilchoman founder, Anthony Wills, personally selected two bourbon barrels and one sherry butt to be vatted together and bottled at natural cask strength. 

“Selecting casks for our annual Fèis Ìle release is the highlight of my year.  I’ve always enjoyed the balance of character achieved by combining both bourbon and sherry casks, the bourbon barrels enhance and exhibit the character of the Kilchoman spirit whilst the sherry butt adds layers of richness and complexity.  The result is a beautifully balanced example of Kilchoman Single Farm Single Malt, a credit to the hard work of all the team, both on the farm and in the distillery,” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder. 

The Fèis ìle 2023 bottling will only be available from the distillery on Thursday 1st June and will be limited to one bottle per person.

ONLINE LIVE TASTING & DISTILLERY TOURS

We’re looking forward to welcoming many of you to the distillery on Thursday 1^st June but if you can’t make it in person, don’t worry, we will do our best to bring a taste of fèis to you virtually wherever you are in the world.

Throughout the day we will be going live from various production areas around the distillery, having a chat with the Kilchoman team and visitors and listening to the live music, so wherever you are in the world you can join in too!  We’ll be live on our Facebook & Instagram.

Live Tasting – Join us live at 2pm for an online tasting of recent and upcoming limited edition releases including the Fèis 2023 release.  Tasting packs can be purchased in advance here so you’ll have the whiskies to sample along with us.