The 2024 Awards season is well underway, and we are extremely pleased to announce that Kilchoman has been doing very well. All three of our core range whiskies have taken home a prize at The Spirits Business Scotch Whisky Masters (2024) in the ‘Single Malt up to 12 years’ category. Our Machir Bay was presented with a gold award and both our Sanaig and our new core range edition, Batch Strength, received the highest accolade in the same competition, the Master award. All of us at the distillery are extremely proud and honoured with these results.
Machir Bay was our first ever core range whisky, released back in 2012. It has naturally evolved over the years but still remains true to its distinctive Kilchoman character. Machir Bay gets it name from the picturesque beach, only a short distance from the distillery. We create it using 50ppm malted barley and mature it in both Bourbon barrels and Oloroso Sherry casks in our on-site warehouses. It is a vatting of 90% bourbon barrels and 10% Sherry casks that we bottle as a NAS (non-age-statement) at 46%ABV. Machir Bay represents a classic Kilchoman style; rich citrus fruit, balanced with lingering crisp Islay peat smoke.
Sanaig was introduced later to the portfolio in 2014 and since launching it has brought a fresh perspective to the classic style of Kilchoman. Named after a small rocky inlet a couple of miles from the distillery, Sanaig is also a vatting of both Bourbon barrels and Oloroso Sherry casks. The majority of its production follows the exact same method as Machir Bay; same ABV, age, peating level and cask types. The difference in the two whiskies comes right at the very end of the process when they are vatted. Sanaig showcases a greater influence from the Sherry casks with 70% and the other 30% being Bourbon barrels. The high percentage of oloroso sherry influence adds a balance of dried fruits and spices to the classic Kilchoman citrus sweetness and peat smoke character.
Batch Strength is the most recent addition to our core range, having only been released this year. It has long been our desire to create something with a higher ABV than Machir Bay and Sanaig to amplify the power and showcase the depth of flavour from Kilchoman. Similar to our other core range whiskies, there are both bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry casks in the vatting, however, the Batch Strength contains 20% re-charred Portuguese red wine casks, creating a unique and distinctive character with sweet dark fruits, rich spices and salted caramel. All of this is amplified with the bottling strength of 57%ABV, producing a bold and powerful whisky.
Thank you to all the Kilchoman fans for their continued support which allows us to be in a position to win these awards. All three of these whiskies can be found in shops and bars around the world. For more info on where to find your nearest retailer, please get in touch with admin@kilchomandistillery.com.
It’s official, we’ve made it back to Islay with our trusty pick-up, without incident this year, and happy to have made it back in time for Fèis Ìle!
The last leg of our European tour took us through the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Ireland and finally Scotland. It amounts to a total of 20 countries travelled in just over 2 months and it has been an absolute blast from start to finish. We’d like to thank you all for coming out to support us and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
James was joined by myself in Rotterdam for the Dutch part of the tour where we were able to showcase the Batch Strength in an array of beautiful venues, as well as some rare single casks. To top this off, the sun was shining bright and we were able to show off our tour t-shirts again (after a slightly chilly trip through Scandinavia)!
This leg took us through Rotterdam, Nijmegen, Pijnacker and finally Sluis where Peter took over from James and continued the escapades into Belgium with me.
The first stop in Belgium was Antwerp where we hosted a lovely evening masterclass and also a barrel-top tasting during the day.
We then headed to Angleur, stopping at two different shops along the way, welcomed by both new and familiar faces. At the evening masterclass, we were able to sharpen our French skills and finally indulge in some world-famous Belgium fries… they did not disappoint!
The following day, we were kept busy with three stops on our route to Mechelen, seeing a plethora of Kilchoman lovers at every pit-stop, even at 11am mid-week… Who doesn’t like ‘cereals’ for breakfast?
Peter then switched places with Catherine who finished the Belgium leg with me.
We drove through to Zottegem for a relaxed afternoon tasting and finished the day’s drive in Heule for another evening event. For our last day in Belgium, we headed towards Heuvelland for a full day of whisky shenanigans, starting with an afternoon sampling session with over 20 different Kilchoman releases, a unique chance to try some of our historical releases that was greatly appreciated by the crowd and also myself…
To finish our Belgian stint with a bang, we hosted an in-depth masterclass comparing the impact of full maturation vs finishes and 1st fill vs 2nd. It was then time to pass the torch to Emma and George after ducking back under the Channel to continue the tour.
Ken
Emma and I met up with Catherine and Ken at Gatwick Airport for a quick debrief before the tour continued.
The UK and Ireland leg of the tour took us south to Brighton before heading west to Bath. Thanks to The Whisky Shops for putting on great events. We also had a first for the tour… A parking ticket! I am just surprised we managed to avoid one until the final week.
Next stop was Manchester, and it soon came apparent that the traffic in England was some of the worst we had experienced, but it was nice to be driving on the right (left) side of the road.
Wednesday morning started a little earlier than planned with a ferry cancellation resulting in a 5.45am dash to catch the first boat to Dublin. It was not all bad as we were greeted in Dublin with a nice pint of Guinness on a rare night off. The next day was spent at the Celtic Whisk(e)y Shop and then a fun filled evening in the Flowing Tide Pub for an evening tasting.
KWM Wines in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland, was next on the list. An amazing shop that had a wide selection of Kilchoman on offer. The crowd that evening included many Kilchoman first timers who enjoyed an informal tasting in the shop.
It was a slightly more sociable hour for our ferry back to Scotland and a visit to our friends at Robbie’s Drams in Ayr. A great way to kick off the Scottish leg, a packed 11am tasting. The final few days of the tour were spent in Glasgow, Edinburgh and then Inverary, before George and the pick up made it back to the distillery (without picking up any more parking tickets). It was nice to finish this year’s tour in the same vehicle we started in for once!
Thank you to all the shops, bars and distributors that welcomed us all and made sure that our Batch Strength European Tour was a huge success.
George
The Sauternes Cask Matured has now arrived! The Sauternes Cask Matured limited edition has spent its full maturation in ex-sauternes wine casks. Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder, selected a combination of fresh and refill Sauternes barriques from two separate years, the youngest being from 2018, creating an extraordinary balance of buttery sweetness, barbecued pineapple, candied ginger and floral peat smoke.
Sauternes maturation is a challenge, particularly full-term maturation, that’s why it is so rare. Our first release of sauternes cask matured Kilchoman, in 2016, was matured entirely in fresh (first fill) sauternes casks for five years. The second edition, released in 2018, was finished for five months in sauternes casks.
This time Anthony decided on a vatting of 22% fresh and 78% refill casks from two distillation years. This roughly 3:1 ratio of fresh and refill casks creates the perfect balance of sauternes influence and Kilchoman character. Most of the refill casks selected were previously used for the 2018 sauternes finish release. Using sauternes casks for finishing is the ideal preparation for full maturation, the shorter finishing period extracts the most intense sauternes influence, creating casks that develop plenty of sauternes character without losing structure or balance.
“After a six-year absence, the Sauternes Cask Matured Kilchoman is back! The previous edition was a Sauternes finish, now it’s time for a return to the full power that complete maturation in these wine casks brings. Waves of sweet fruits and butterscotch balanced with our Islay peat smoke, a delicious dram,”
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.
The Sauternes Cask Matured (70cl, 50% vol.) will be available from your local stockists in the UK and across the world from this week. For those of you who live in countries further away, bottles may take a few more weeks to find themselves on shelves.
For more information please email admin@kilchomandistillery.com
Back on the road again for another busy few weeks, joining the tour in Sweden before travelling through into Norway, Denmark and Germany. 16 out of the 20 countries have now been ticked off the list – the Batch Strength pickup is really clocking up the miles now! Let me fill you in on what we have been up too….
I arrived in Malmö, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to take over from Catherine and meet George. After sorting out the minor issue of booking a hotel in the wrong city (easy mistake…), it was smooth sailing! Sweden welcomed Kilchoman with open arms, meeting a lot of familiar faces and were shown photos from the first ever European tour 10 years ago where, annoyingly, George looked exactly same!
We headed to Fiskebäckskil for the final stop in Sweden, and my jaw was on the floor by what we were met with. From the outside, it looked like a small boat shed, and when we walked in, the entire space was covered floor to ceiling with whisky bottles—almost 3000! The town was small, but the tasting drew in a crowd, with people travelling from all over to take part. We are very grateful to everyone who makes the effort join us on tour.
Next, it was a long drive to Norway, where I had my face pressed against the window trying to spot a moose (I was unsuccessful). We had two packed days with bar visits, masterclasses, and Kilchoman whisky cocktails. George and I ended up in Oslo on the same day as a marathon – unfortunately, we were far too busy to take part! But it did mean the city would prove very difficult to drive around, so we decided it was safer to leave the pickup in the garage, and it just so happened that meant both myself and George could indulge in some Kilchoman cocktails, which got both of our seals of approval!
I said goodbye to George, and Peter joined me as we drove 8 hours back through Sweden and across to Denmark. We hit the ground running in Denmark with a busy day in Copenhagen visiting shops, hosting a masterclass, and, of course, stopping by to offer the little mermaid a dram of Batch Strength before heading off to Odense, Harlev, Randers, and Varde over the next few days. We visited some incredible whisky shops, including the showroom for whisky.dk, which was a whisky lover’s dream! And the most unusual whisky shop I have ever visited where you could buy a bottle of Machir Bay at the same time as buying paint samples, a frying pan or a samurai sword. Asking the shop owner, he told us that “if they want it, I will sell it”, a true businessman I thought.
Peter and I then headed to Germany for what we thought would be a regular in-shop tasting, but we were told we would be driving the pickup into the CITTI supermarket and parking it next to the fruit and vegetable aisle. A very strange experience for us and I’m sure the shoppers as well. In the following days, we held some fantastic tastings and masterclasses, chatted with some familiar faces, and taught some newbies all about Kilchoman. I said goodbye to Peter and was joined by James (who brought the lovely Scottish rain with him) to finish the rest of the tour in Germany, rounding off the week with a 130-person tasting in Nürnberg.
Now, after 16 days. It’s time to head home to catch up on some rest and, no doubt, talk about Kilchoman in my sleep before re-joining the tour for the final leg in the UK. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates, and if we haven’t visited you yet, we will see you very soon!
Emma
Kilchoman Fèis Ìle Day 2024 – 30.05.24
We are on the countdown to our Fèis Ìle 2024 Day – Thursday 30th May!
Selecting the Fèis Ìle release is a highlight each year for Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder, and for this year, he’s selected something unique! This time around, he’s picked two fresh bourbon barrels, distilled in 2011. This single farm single malt was produced from barley grown and malted at Kilchoman in 2010, before being dried in our kiln. Significantly, this batch of malt was not dried with peat, making the Fèis Ìle 2024 one of the few unpeated releases from Kilchoman.
“Our Fèis Ìle releases are sold exclusively to visitors to Islay and I am very excited to offer something rarely seen in the market to those making the journey this year. Few would have tasted unpeated Kilchoman before, and although some may miss the maritime peat smoke, the fresh citrus notes and soft buttery sweetness shine through on this dram,”
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.
As well as launching the Fèis release, we have a packed schedule of various events and activities planned throughout our Fèis Day on Thursday 30th May, both at the distillery and online.
Entrance is free and you will have the opportunity to explore the production areas, meet and chat to the team, join in our Range Tastings, show off your skills at the games area to win a dram, dance along to the live music in the courtyard, enjoy a burger from the BBQ and of course, sample the various drams and whisky cocktails on offer from the bar – now all we need is the sunshine!
For those of you who can’t make it to Islay, we are going to do our best to bring the Fèis Day atmosphere to you wherever you are in the world! We will be hosting live tastings and Q&As as well as bringing you regular updates throughout the day. We will do our best to make you feel like you are here on Islay with us!
Competition Time – We’re offering everyone the opportunity to win a bottle of our Fèis Ìle 2024 release! Simply ‘Like’ our Facebook Page or ‘Follow Us’ on Instagram to enter the draw. Winners will be announced on Friday 31st May. If you’re already a ‘Like’ or ‘Follow’, you’re automatically entered, so you don’t need to do anything else.
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The irreplaceable stages of whisky making are mashing, fermentation and distillation. No matter how big, small, industrial or traditional the distillery, you will always find these stages taking place. However, they tend to be some of the most overlooked parts of the process. Always feeling very sterile and scientific between distilleries. A lot of whisky enthusiasts focus on casks, or barley or on Islay – peat! But at Kilchoman every stage of our production is meticulously thought out, to ensure we create the best flavour possible.
First thing to point out, is that at Kilchoman we have two identical stillhouses, so whatever we have one of – we built it a twin! We first start with mashing. We like to think of this stage essentially like brewing a cup of tea. The hotter the water, the time it takes and the better the quality of the tea leaves, the better the flavour extraction. Mashing isn’t too far from this thinking.
We add grist (malted, milled barley) into our 1.2-ton mash tun and over the course of 6 hours we will add three increasingly hot waters to ensure we have fully extracted all the essential sugars and enzymes needed for the next stage. We start the first water at 64°C and finish the last water at 88°C allowing the hot water to pull out everything from the grist we need in order to make the whisky. We are then left with a sugary, peated barley water that we refer to as ‘wort’. We empty the mash tun of any residual grist (now known as ‘draff’) which we use as cow feed for our herd of pure breed Aberdeen Angus cows.
The wort continues its journey to fermentation in our washback’s. Our fermentation is the longest on Islay, lasting 90 hours, with the average time on Islay being between 50-60 hours. The longer time allows the yeast to fully ferment, and a secondary fermentation to take place giving the now 6-8% alcohol (we call this wash) a more fruity, sweet and complex depth of flavour which enhances our spirit overall.
Now, onto the main event – distillation! At Kilchoman we embrace the handmade traditions of whisky production, the stillhouse team won’t be seen in a computer room, they will be up and down the stillhouse cranking open the pipes by hand and turning the steam up to temperature.
We have two sets of stills that run simultaneously. First of all, we charge 3000 litres of the freshly made wash into our wash still where we heat it using pipes in the base, allowing steam to run through the pipes to heat the liquid inside. The liquid vaporises, travelling up the neck of the still and into the condenser where it will turn into 1000 litres of a 19% alcohol known as low wines (the other 2000 litres is called pot ale and we can use that as a fertiliser on our fields!) although 19% abv might be enough to get you feeling merry it is still not a high enough alcohol content for whisky, so it needs to be increased and perfected using the spirit still.
The spirit still works the same as the wash still but when the alcohol rises it needs to be separated into three cuts – heads (foreshots), hearts (new make spirit) and tails (feints). Only the ‘hearts’ are seen to be good enough to collect for distillation and at Kilchoman this is a small window between 76%abv- 65.5%abv. The other components are either too low or too high in alcohol and will be mixed in with the next batch of low wines to be distilled through the spirit still again. From the 3000 litres of wash we begin the process with, only 300 litres of that is new make spirit ready to be diluted to 63.5% and filled into casks.
Our spirit still is amongst the smallest in Scotland with a very tall and narrow neck, and we distil slowly, giving us our unique spirit. We also have a reflux ball (boil bulb) on our still, which aids in purifying the spirit, this allows the vapour to circulate and interact more with the copper, removing more heavy, oily compounds and resulting in a more defined, complex flavour. The size and shape of the still work to give us our unique clean, light and fruity spirit while keeping all the complex layers of flavour that we need to hold through maturation.
The end result is the Kilchoman DNA. Our casks will then go to work and create all our different expressions, but it is the new make spirit that gives Kilchoman it’s unique quality. There is no right or wrong, each distillery creates their own distinctive spirit through these whisky-making processes to ensure their DNA is representative of their distillery, we just push the boundaries a bit further to create something a little bit special!
The Batch Strength tour continues, and we’ve now hosted events in 12 out of the 20 countries we will be visiting over the 10 weeks! Stage 2 took us through Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden, let me catch you up on the adventure so far…
Peter and I were on the road for the final two days in Austria. After a long but scenic drive through what felt like every season, from warm sun to pouring rain and even some snow, we finally arrived in Götzis for a busy afternoon tasting event before driving back to Innsbruck for a delicious dinner and whisky-filled evening.
Vienna welcomed us the next day with sunny skies (30+ degrees!). It was lovely to be back in the beautiful city, although it is not the easiest to drive in, so I named Peter as designated driver for this part! The final Austrian tasting at the soon-to-be Pot Still shop has left us and everyone who came along to the tasting eager to see the finished look.
Next up: Slovakia. A short jaunt from Vienna landed us in Bratislava’s Old Town for a leisurely lunch and some Batch Strength photography. During the afternoon, we had lots of people pop by the Svet Napojov shop to say hello and taste the new Batch Strength release followed by a fun evening back in The Izzi Pub. It was great to meet so many new people who were tasting Kilchoman for the first time, especially when their feedback was so positive!
Then it was off to Poland – Katowice, Kraków, Starachowice, Warsaw, and Bialystok—a busy 4 days! A special mention has to go to Starachowice with over 80 people joining us on a Sunday afternoon to taste through the Kilchoman range. It was a fun afternoon and we felt like celebs with all the bottle signings and photos!
Dare we say it yet, the pickup has been doing very well despite all the kilometres we’re making it do day after day. We had a small hiccup in Bialystok when we noticed a tyre was worn and needed changed, this led to some interesting conversations at a local garage with neither James or I being able to speak any Polish (thank you, Google Translate), but we made it through, 4 new tyres fitted and on we went. The next stop was Lithuania, the first time we’ve brought Kilchoman to the Baltics region.
Despite a small delay due to the tyre change, our first Kilchoman event at the ‘King & Mouse Whisky Bar’ in Vilnius went very well. Over the next two days we visited Latvia and Estonia. It was a great opportunity to introduce Kilchoman to many and we enjoyed sharing stories of the distillery and Islay over a few drams.
Helsinki was up next so a quick ferry crossing from Tallinn meant a day off from lots of driving. No longer were we enjoying the 30+ degree heat that we’d had in Austria and Slovakia, the temperature had quite drastically been getting lower and we finally found ourselves in Helsinki chittering with lows of -3°C but a wind chill that made it feel more like -10°C! We even had some snow for the drive to Turku. The three Sunday afternoon Masterclasses kept spirits high on the brisk Sunday afternoon. I think the whiskies were helping to keep everyone warm!
Time for another ferry, this time for 11.5 hours! Although it doesn’t look like a huge distance on the map, it was a long crossing from Turku to Stockholm. On the plus side, the boat was slightly bigger than what we are used to when crossing between Islay and Kennacraig. At 9 levels high and various restaurants, shops and on-board entertainment the crossing passed quite quickly.
James flew back from Turku and I met up with George in Stockholm. He was already at the Ardbeg Embassy in Stockholm leading a packed-out room through the line-up when I joined.
Sweden continued with another sold-out Masterclass in Bredaryd’s Wärdshus before we drove to Malmö where I passed the keys back to Emma. Emma and George will now complete the last two days in Sweden before driving north to Norway.
So for me, after 14 days on the road through 8 countries, it’s time to head back to Islay for a couple of weeks before joining the tour again in Belgium next month. Stay tuned for more updates as we journey through the next 8 countries!
Catherine
Click here to find out where we are yet to visit.
Things are picking up on Rockside farm at the distillery with spring well underway. We have ploughed all our fields with the aim of sowing 170 acres with the barley being kept exclusively for future releases of our 100% Islay range. Spring is also a very important time of the year for our herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle and our sheep. With a lot of early mornings and late nights ahead of us to ensure everything runs smoothly.
This year we have opted for two tried and tested barley varieties, LG Diablo and Laureate. We have grown Laureate on the farm for several years, with it being the highest yielding variety of spring barley available to us in Scotland. It is readily used in the country for malting and brewing and continues to be one of the top performers. LG Diablo is a newer variety to us with the first crop grown on the farm in 2020 and was approved for use in malting in 2019. Having used it for a few years now we are very happy with how it performs throughout production, and we are hoping for another successful crop from them both this year.
In terms of flavour, we do notice a difference during our production process. If the barley quality dips, the production team will find it more difficult to work with during key stages like malting, mashing and distillation. So, it really is a big risk trialling more experimental varieties. Anthony has also noticed differences in the flavour of the new make spirt depending on the barley variety used. Laureate gives the spirit more notes of cereal and a malted characteristic compared to LG Diablo. All that being said, we are still at the hands of mother nature, and are all holding our breath these next few months for a good summer of weather – something that is a rarity on Islay!
We have not only been busy preparing our fields for our barley but we have also been very busy with the livestock side of the farm. Springtime is always a hectic time on any farm and here at Rockside it is no exception. Jim, our farmer, is about to begin the hard work of lambing and calving. We have 24 cows calving with the first one having been born already on the 6th of March! In addition, we have over 500 sheep lambing from early April, so we are making sure they have all their correct dozes and medicines to ensure they are fit and healthy and ready to be mothers. Even though the distillery is always busy producing whisky, this time of year is a particularly stressful time on the farm. We are very proud to still be running the farm at Kilchoman as it was there long before the distillery and we want to continue the original farming heritage of Rockside.
Farming is not a 9-5 job, it is a way of life and we are working hard to make sure our sheep have lambs, our cows have calves, and obviously, our barley grows!
Leg one of the tour complete and all smooth sailing so far! The pick-up travelled almost 2000 kilometres from Islay to Switzerland to kick things off. Ken and I started, darting all over Switzerland for a mix of in shop tasting sessions and masterclasses with a whisky food pairing added to the mix over three very busy days. Ken’s stay was short and sweet as he flew back to Scotland and I drove down to Italy to meet George.
Italy was when things started to heat up (quite literally). We held tastings in Rome, Florence and Ferrara with the biggest being for 70 people in the cellar of a castle – yes, it was as cool as it sounds. Lots of long drives between cities with beautiful Italian scenery and me scaring George with my questionable European driving!
Both Slovenia and Croatia were whistle-stop tours with us spending a day in each. Stunning countries, and the warmest reception from everyone who came along to see us both days. We were in Portoroz in Slovenia which is a beautiful seaside town with a very thirsty population! Zagreb was equally as pretty, and we hosted two very relaxed events and poured a lot of whisky!
We set off for Budapest the next day for a barrel top tasting which was George’s last event before he left the next day and I was joined by Peter. Peter was thrown in at the deep end with a full day of talking all things Kilchoman before hosting a masterclass that evening.
We had a five-hour drive ahead of us to Graz for a tasting with the Islay Whisky Chapter. I was designated weather reporter, informing Peter whenever it got hotter before eventually hitting 30 degrees – my pale Scottish skin was in for a shock! The tasting was so popular they couldn’t fit everyone in one room, so we split it in half. A really enthusiastic and knowledgeable group and a nice finish for my last tasting of the first leg.
A great start to the tour. Very happy to see the Batch Strength going down so well, it really is a standout whisky. Some wonderful events hosted so far, seeing seasoned whisky enthusiasts as well as some newbies. The stillhouse team have been on their best behaviour during the live Facetime calls and are seasoned professionals for their second year talking live to people across Europe. I have passed the baton on to Peter and Catherine who were waking up to a 6am drive to western Austria. Have fun guys!
Emma
To find out where else in Europe we are heading, click here.
The much-anticipated annual launch of Loch Gorm is finally here! Named after the famously dark, peaty loch overlooked by the distillery, our annual Loch Gorm limited edition is our only regular expression matured entirely in oloroso sherry casks.
The 2024 edition was distilled in 2014 and matured in oloroso sherry butts previously used by Bodega José y Miguel Martín. The majority of fresh casks in the vatting allow for layers of oloroso influence to be imparted from the sherry soaked oak.
“Loch Gorm has often been our most sought after limited edition and I don’t see that changing in 2024. Distilled in 2014, these sherry butts have given this year’s release an abundance of rich spices and toffee notes. A great example of peat and sherry working in harmony together,” Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.
Loch Gorm 2024 will be available from your local stockists in the UK and across the world from this week. For those of you who live in countries further away, bottles may take a few more weeks to find themselves on shelves.
For more information please email admin@kilchomandistillery.com
Anthony & Kathy travelled to Jerez to meet our sherry cask supplier, Jose y Miguel Martín. Click here to read more.
