🏅🏅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 12th 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 1st 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 1st 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.
The Kilchoman Land Rover is heading back on the road! After European tours in 2014, 15′, and 18′ we’re loading up the Land Rover with Kilchoman goodies and heading across Europe once again. This time we’ll be hitting 13 countries during a six week tour, starting in Luxembourg on April 16th, finishing back on Islay for our Fèis Ìle.
As well as our range of award winning whiskies and an exclusive tour bottling, we’ll also be bringing some of our famous new make spirit. Robin Bignal and his production team will be dialling in via live feed from the distillery to explain how we make our unique spirit and where those aromas and flavours come from.
The European Tour limited edition release of 3,325 bottles is exclusively available at the tour stops. Matured in bourbon and port casks and bottled at natural cask strength (58.5%), this release is a punchy mix of red berries, mixed spices, fresh vanilla sweetness and integrated maritime peat smoke. You don’t want to miss out on this one!
See the full list of tour stops below, a blend of informal afternoon events and larger evening tastings. Come along and say hi to the team, hear some stories of life at Kilchoman, taste some great whisky and have some fun!
Belgium / Luxembourg
16TH APRIL : Shopping Centre Massen, Wemperhardt, LU
17TH APRIL : De Schelf Spirits, Hamme, BE
18THAPRIL : Huis Aerts, Bree, BE
19THAPRIL: Drink Factory, Mons, BE
20THAPRIL: TasTToe, Boortmeerbeek, BE
Netherlands
21ST APRIL : Van der Boog, The Hague
Vonk Zaandam, Amsterdam
22ND APRIL : Woudenberg Whisky Show, Utrecht/Arnhem
23RD APRIL : Berendsen Dranken, Enschede
Germany
26TH APRIL : Whisky For Life, Frankfurt
Whisky Spirits, Frankfurt
27TH APRIL : Hilgering, Dortmund
28TH APRIL : Men’s Needs, Hamburg
Weinquelle Lühmann, Hamburg
29TH APRIL : KaDeWe, Berlin
Whisky & Cigars, Berlin
1ST MAY : Tara Spirits, Munich
Austria
2ND MAY : Potstill, Vienna
3RD MAY : Dr. Bottle, Graz
Slovakia
4TH MAY : Svet Nápojov, Bratislava
The Izzi Pub, Bratislava
Hungary
5TH MAY : GoodSpirits Bar, Budapest
Croatia
6TH MAY : Fine Stvari, Zagreb
Esplanade Hotel, Zagreb
Slovenia
9TH MAY : Lord Byron Pub, Koper
Italy
10TH MAY : Ferrowine, Castelfranco
Boss Hogg Whisky County, Treviso
11TH MAY : Whisky Antique, Formigine
Atlas Whisky Bar, Bologna
12TH MAY : Baobab Café, Milano
Julep Cocktail Bar, Milano
13TH MAY : Whisky Club Italia, La Limonaia di Merone
XXL Café Chivasso, Torino
Switzerland
16TH MAY : Globus, Zürich
The Whisky Store, Rapperswil-Jona
17TH MAY : Häberli, Dagmersellen
Friends of Isles & Islay, Lucerne
France
18TH MAY : La Bouchonnerie, Annecy
La Java des Flacons, Annecy
19TH MAY : Bon Plan du Vin, Beaune
Whiskies & Spirit, Beaune
20TH MAY : Au Secret du Vins, Lille
UK
24TH MAY : Milroys of Soho, London
The Whisky Exchange, London (Covent Garden)
25TH MAY : Aston’s of Manchester, Manchester
House of Malt, Carlisle
26TH MAY : RMW, Edinburgh
Uesquebae, Edinburgh
27TH MAY : Good Spirits, Glasgow
Robbie’s Drams, Ayr
28TH MAY : Green Welly Stop, Tyndrum
The George Hotel, Inverary
For more information about events and how to purchase tickets please contact the venues directly
For general enquiries please email info@kilchomandistillery.com
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder & Master Distiller, has always placed great importance on sourcing casks of the highest quality. This is precisely what he obtains from José y Miguel Martín, whose sherry casks are always of exceptional quality.
In February 2023, Kathy and Anthony went on a trip to Spain to visit Miguel Martín, our sherry cask supplier since the distillery was founded in 2005. Over the years, a great working relationship has flourished, and Miguel Martín consistently provides sherry casks of outstanding quality. During the visit Kathy and Anthony had the opportunity to spend some time on-site with Miguel and meet some of the individuals involved in the family business, from the team crafting the casks in the cooperage to the people producing and maturing the sherry wines in the bodegas.
The visit provided a glimpse of the passion and enthusiasm that the José y Miguel Martín team have for creating the highest quality casks. From sourcing the best American and European oak to the meticulous process of constructing the highest quality casks on-site, to exploring and learning more about the production of different sherry wines, the trip was very successful and enjoyable for Kathy & Anthony and only deepened their appreciation for what Miguel and his team do. And of course, tasting the different sherries along the way was definitely a highlight. Anthony now has his eye on some other sherry cask types to experiment with at Kilchoman!
Family Business
Anthony and Kathy Wills founded Kilchoman in 2005. As the business grew, their three sons, George, James and Peter, came on board. Kilchoman has remained an independently owned and family run business, which is fairly unique in the whisky industry.
Anthony is delighted to be able to source his sherry casks from José y Miguel Martín, which is also a family run business. It was a privilege and a pleasure to spend time with Miguel, who is the second generation in his family business, as well as other family members including his nephews.
“I always enjoy working with family run businesses. The passion, commitment and work ethic is something you don’t always see at large multinational companies. Miguel has a vision for his business which is similar to mine. Always produce quality products and be one step ahead of the competition”,
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder
The Cooperage
At Kilchoman we buy our casks directly from source whenever possible to ensure the casks are of a consistently high quality. Being able to take a step further back and learn more about the oak being sourced and the process of how the casks are made was fascinating. Seeing the coopers at work and learning more about the traditional craft, leaves you with a deep appreciation of their expertise and again highlighted that the sherry casks we obtain are crafted with exceptional quality at the forefront.
Traceability is something we often talk about, particularly with our 100% Islay releases which are produced from barley grown on our own farm. It is also something that is being further developed by Jose y Miguel Martín, with the aim of developing a system to enable them to trace the oak back to the location of the forest, identify which cooper crafted each individual cask and the maturation details of the sherry in each cask.
Oloroso Sherry Casks – Loch Gorm
Our Loch Gorm release is exclusively matured in oloroso sherry casks from José y Miguel Martín. These American oak butts are shipped fully intact from their bodegas in Jerez all the way to Islay. By not breaking the casks down for transportation, it ensures that casks arrive at the distillery in the best possible condition ready for us to fill.
The 2024 edition of Loch Gorm was distilled in 2014 and matured in oloroso sherry butts. We use butts for Loch Gorm with the aim of maturing over a longer period of time to give us the balance and depth between the distillery character with the sherry flavours from the casks. This year’s release has an abundance of rich spices and toffee notes – click here for more info.
The eagerly awaited annual release of Loch Gorm has arrived! The vatting has been completed and bottles will be hitting shelves around the world any day now.
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.
For the 2023 Edition Anthony and Robin selected a total of 22 casks, 8 distilled in 2013, 6 distilled in 2014, and 8 distilled in 2015. This latest edition of Loch Gorm will be available from Kilchoman stockists around the world from this week (a little longer for those living further away from Scotland). Please contact us if you have any questions about where to find a bottle.
Each cask was chosen for its unique flavour profile which, when combined together with the other 21 casks, create a beautiful balance of rich fruity character with layers of classic Kilchoman peat smoke and citrus sweetness.
“Rather than dominating, Loch Gorm’s oloroso maturation works in harmony with the natural character of Kilchoman. The 2023 release has a fantastic spectrum of flavour, from rich spices and macerated peaches to fresh citrus, ginger, orange zest and waves of salty peat smoke,”
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder.
Loch Gorm 2023 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.
Our Visitor Centre & Café is now open six days per week from 9:45am to 5pm (closed on Saturdays).
Tours & Tastings – Bookings made online via our website
Our ‘Classic tours’ take place at 10am & 1.30pm. This is a one-hour guided tour around all our production areas, showing you the steps that go into making our single farm single malt scotch Whisky. On the way around, you get to sample two of our most popular whiskies. Classic tours are £10 per person and under 18s are welcome. Drivers’ drams are also available.
Our Limited Edition Tasting & Tour runs at 11am and lasts 2 hours. Accompanied by one of our guides, you will see first-hand all the processes that go into how we make our whisky. Enjoy a dram of our 100% Islay on the malt floor as we talk you through our barley-to-bottle philosophy. Followed by a tutored tasting of our limited-edition whiskies. The limited-edition tour and tasting is £40 per person – over 18s only. Drivers’ drams are available.
NEW EXPERIENCE! Our ‘Roving Tasting Tour’ promises to be a treat for all your senses. Available at 2.30pm, enjoy a dram in each area of the Distillery, including our traditional malting floor, stillhouse and one of our dunnage style warehouses before heading back to the visitor centre to taste our latest shop exclusive single cask. The roving tasting tour is £25 per person – over 18’s only. Driver drams available.
Whisky Bar
Our tasting bar is open from 10am to 4.45pm. You can sample all of our current range of whiskies as well as some of our archive stock from the past 16 years. Our knowledgeable staff will be happy to welcome you to the visitor centre and answer any of your Kilchoman questions, while guiding you through your tasting. No booking required.
Café
Our on-site café is open from 10am to 4.30pm. Freshly prepared light lunches are served from 12noon to 3.30pm. A set menu is available for groups of 10 and above. For more details or to reserve a table, please contact: tours@kilchomandistillery.com or call us on 01496 850 011. Booking is advised.
Scotland, and more precisely, Islay, has long been associated with producing heavily-peated styles of Single Malt whisky, but when does that renowned flavour and influence of peat smoke become part of the whisky making process and when is the PPM content measured?
If you are, or have been, fortunate enough to visit Kilchoman Distillery on Islay, you will see that to produce our 100% Islay releases, we’re able to not only grow our own barley on site at the farm surrounding the distillery but we’re unique in that we also malt our barley on site at the distillery using traditional floor maltings; this is a key part in being Islay’s Farm Distillery and ensuring that 100% of the process is carried out at the distillery, on Islay.
The peated malt used to create our iconic whiskies – whether it be using our traditional floor maltings at the distillery or barley that we purchase from the commercial maltings – the concept is the same; we want to steep, germinate, and kiln the grains of barley in order for them to record a parts per million (PPM) content. You can read more about our malt floor and what goes on, here.
Often, the assumption is that the PPM is measured in the final spirit however as an industry standard, it is measured in the malted barley. This allows for a level of consistency across all producers as multiple factors throughout the production can reduce the PPM total in the bottled spirit. For Kilchoman, this can be tested on site at the distillery however we will send samples of the malted barley to a third party whereby the malt will be analysed for quality and control purposes.
Once steeping and germination on our malt floor have taken place and the distillery team are happy with the quality of grain, kilning is used to stop further germination ensuring we capture the necessary starches required to eventually convert to alcohol during fermentation. It is at this stage that we use peat to influence our malt, producing a distinct ‘smoky’ aroma and taste. Kilning is the point at which our barley is spread out evenly on a mesh floor in the upper part of the kiln, 5 meters above the peat fire. Hand cut Islay peat will be burned on the fire below, allowing the peat smoke to rise and immerse itself into the green malt.
Temperature, airflow, and time are all important factors considered when determining the final PPM as they all have an effect on the overall influence on the malt. A distiller, at this point, can specify the peating level they require.
To aid consistency, at Kilchoman for our 100% Islay Edition, we burn hand cut, Islay peat under controlled conditions for 15 hours. This in turn results in a phenolic level of 20PPM (approx.). Our 50ppm malt is ultimately held under these conditions for a longer period of time, resulting in a higher PPM figure. Increasing the final PPM figure of malt is achieved by lengthening the amount of time the malt spends under the conditions provided by the kilning phase, balancing the temperature, moisture content and the level of smoke being created by the quantity of peat used as well as the rate of burning of the peat. It is important to note that if we were to use warm air (rather than peat) in the kilning process, this would create an unpeated whisky.
So, does the source of the peat influence the whisky? Each part of the whisky making process has an impact on the final flavour created and the source of the peat is no different. For example, if we were to test highland peat against Islay peat, both would affect the malt profile drastically. At Kilchoman, it’s important that we produce peated malt using peat only from Islay. For our 100% Islay edition, our peat is sourced from a nearby peat bank, managed by Derek Scott, Bottling Hall Manager, while our commercial malt uses peat from the east side of Islay, near Port Ellen resulting in two styles of peated spirit (20PPM and 50PPM). Derek and James take a walk through the malting and peating process here.
How does all this impact our whisky that’s being tasted around the world? Often during tastings, you will hear the speaker discuss the smoky and peaty characteristics found within the whisky (if it’s a peated malt) but both profiles can be individually defined. It’s easier to note the profile of smoke than it is peat, whether that be through nosing or tasting. Below are a few typical notes to look for:
- Smoky – dry/wet smoke, bonfire smoke, woody and ashy
- Peaty – medicinal (TCP, iodine, tar, seaweed), sulphur and mossy/earthy soil
A mix of the above is possible and when it comes to what you taste, it’s completely individual. Focussing on Kilchoman Single Malt, our aim is to continue producing a classic Islay heavily peated malt but with an elegant balance allowing for notes from the malt, fermentation, distillation, and cask type to play a significant part in the final product.
Click here to stay up to date with all things Kilchoman and be amongst the first to know about new Limited Edition and Exclusive Club Release bottlings!
Before we dive into non-age statement (NAS) single malt, let’s cover what an age-statement single malt is.
Once the distilling process is complete, the new make spirit is filled into casks and set aside in warehouses for maturation. Legally, the minimum age of the spirit must reach 3 years old. After this period, it is entirely up to the individual distillery to decide when to decant and bottle. Once bottled, if the distillery chooses to put an age statement on the label, Scotch whisky law declares that the youngest whisky used in the bottling, must be what is stated on the label. For instance, if 12-year-old, 10-year-old, and 5-year-old Single Malt were used in a vatting, legally, it should be marketed as a 5-year-old single malt as this is the youngest age included in the vatting, even if it was a small amount, this must be done.
For years, whisky marketing has promoted older whiskies over younger to the global industry. Age statements, typically 10, 12, 15, have been considered a mark of perceived quality as a core whisky in a distillery’s portfolio. Ages 18, 21, 25 and above have been promoted as ‘higher quality’ as historically, the messaging that the older a whisky is, the more value the liquid holds. As the industry progresses, this belief is regularly being challenged. Although there are some excellent older single malts in the world, higher age doesn’t always equal superior flavour.
A non-age statement whisky is when the spirit has been bottled without its maturation age being marked on the label. Often, several ages of spirit are brought together in a vatting pre-bottling and this can be described as a multi-vintage whisky. It’s important to note that vatting/blending doesn’t solely relate to blended scotch but also to Single Malt whisky (if all spirit being vatted together has come from the one distillery).
In the current whisky market, there is a significant rise in NAS whiskies. There are several reasons as to why this change has occurred; one being the global sales growth in single malt subsequently applying pressure on the industry to release more stock. This has resulted in older whisky stocks being used sooner than projected. Many distilleries simply therefore don’t have access to the aged stock they once did. Additionally, NAS has allowed much more flexibility for distillers and blenders to be creative when choosing what to release from their warehouses. For Kilchoman, releasing NAS single malt, gives Anthony additional flexibility in deciding which casks to use in each vatting.
Having an arbitrary age statement on a bottle of our single malt was never the intention. Although as a distillery it is incredible to reach these milestones, Anthony’s vision for Kilchoman was to produce a single malt that focused purely on flavour and a style that hadn’t been showcased in the Islay category in the past; young, fruity, and spirit-forward. All while being balanced, demonstrating an elegant expression of a heavily peated Islay Single Malt. All of these qualities can be achieved – arguably better – when presented as a NAS, without an age statement deciding when the time is correct to bottle. Our core releases, Machir Bay and Sanaig proudly represent their NAS status. These two single malts demonstrate a flavour-first mentality, and not just releasing a younger whisky to accelerate the process.
When producing an age-statement whisky, the main aim is to achieve a consistent flavour profile with each vatting. Our goal is to a maintain a certain style for Machir Bay and Sanaig but this is not decided simply by the age of casks, welcoming subtle differences between each vatting. Using the NAS title means that we can use a variety of ages. For example, Machir Bay typically sits between 3 – 8 years old. For those of you who have tasted some of our earlier batches, you will have noticed a natural evolution of flavour within Machir Bay and Sanaig as the age profile has changed over time. Machir Bay remains a 90% Bourbon, 10% Oloroso Sherry maturation split while Sanaig represents a 70% Bourbon, 30% Oloroso Sherry ratio.
It’s important to note that as the spirit matures it naturally will take on more influence from the oak. As mentioned earlier, Kilchoman was designed to reach its peak maturation at an earlier age. When experimenting with cask types, as the maturation length begins to rise, we find that it’s a balance to ensure we gain the correct amount of influence from the oak, yet our spirit and house style can easily be discovered. Often when using European oak as finishes, the spirit can become overpowered should it be left for too long, losing the Kilchoman house style. All of this comes down to capturing the flavour which isn’t determined by an age on the front of the bottle.
If we were to use lower quality casks or tired oak, we would expect to need to mature for a longer period for the cask to have a noticeable impact on our spirit’s flavour. Sourcing high quality oak, often direct from the previous distillery or bodega allows for a shorter maturation period with more influence.
Each year at Kilchoman we will release a variety of limited-edition bottlings. You may have tasted our PX Sherry, STR or Port cask matured releases. While we openly discuss the maturation and age on our packaging, again, these single malts aren’t driven by an age statement. We mention the year that the whisky was released.
Ultimately, it all comes down to the quality of the single malt in the bottle – whether that happens to be an age-statement or a non-age-statement – the taste should speak for itself.
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