Kilchoman US Tour Bottle - Cask Strength Machir Bay

November 4, 2016

Kilchoman US Tour Bottle - Cask Strength Machir Bay

Last week Joshua Hatton poured me one of the best tastings I've ever had. His Whisky Jewbilee festival bottlings are amazing.  Where else are you tasting 15-year Heaven Hill cask strength bourbon next to 28-year Bunnahabhain, next to a limited release bottle from Kilchoman? Life in the fast lane...

The lineup

The Kilchoman bottle in question was the US East Coast Tour bottling that they just released. In a nutshell, they put aside a small allotment of what would eventually become their flagship Machir Bay single malt and released it at full (116.8) proof.  Only around 200 bottles were released nationwide.

Tasting Notes

Nose:  Kilchoman has a very recognizable signature nose leading with white chocolate, olive oil, peat smoke, and pink peppercorns.  This has all those things wrapped up very nicely into a lively and integrated aroma.

Palate: Another Kilchoman trait is that a big smoky and full nose results in a very mellow and smooth taste. If you poured this for me blind and told me it was a <10 year 120 proof whisky I'd never believe you. The taste is very fresh with some grass and herbals going on, the peat carries through but is not overwhelming, and the sweets and chocolates finish on the back of the tongue.

Finish: The cask strength really flourishes on the finish with big full peat smoke flavor balancing out the intense strength of the spirit. This one lasts a while with little embers of roasted peated barley echoing through your sinuses for a few minutes.  Very lovely Kilchoman expression.  We tasted through the entire line as well as some single barrels and jumped at the chance to offer this selection to the group, probably the best Kilchoman I've tasted yet.

left to right: Ben (BMC co-founder), Me (Steve), Josh, Jim (Xavier Wines owner) hitting some very rare bottles...

You can listen to the whole live recording of the tasting and interview with Josh here.

At the time of writing this we have 5 bottles left of the Kilchoman East Coast Tour bottle...  (If you want a heads-up next time before they're all gone, sign up for free membership!)

Thanks for all the feedback on the Booker's Rye post!  By popular request, we're going to follow up with some recommendations for more affordable / attainable ryes that you can find on the shelves.  Stay tuned!

Cheers/SB

Review: Kilchoman PX Finish

April 7, 2015

Review: Kilchoman PX Finish

We have a thing for Kilchoman.  Besides being the first new Islay distillery in a hundred and fifty years, they've been doing really interesting things with young peaty malts.  We brought a bottle of Machir Bay to a party last week and it was a huge hit.  People who had never tried Kilchoman before became fans, and even some folks who weren't fans of peated whisky got into it.  The most common reaction was that the smoke was so prevalent on the nose, but then the malt was so smooth, that they were presently surprised.

So when Impex announced that they were releasing a Pedro Ximenez sherry finished Kilchoman, we got excited.  From Lagavulin to Laphroaig to Benriach, you rarely go wrong combining a heavily peated scotch with finishing in a PX barrel.  The sweet raisin-y richness of the sherry barrel brings out something special in the smoldering peat of the whisky.  We got a sample from Impex and poured it next to their single cask sherry matured release which was already a favorite.

Kilchoman PX Finish Single Cask 118.4 proof

Nose: Heavy heavy butterscotch.  There's some phenol/rubber peat mixing in with a cake-y syrupy sweetness.  Lemon cake and olive oil.  White grapes and apples come out at the end.

Palate: Wow kind of a burner here.  Sort of the opposite of what we've come to expect from Kilchoman, the nose is super smooth and the palate is hot and spicy with tons of smoke.

Finish: Very rough on the throat.  Hate to say it but this one is just not working for us.  The elements aren't really coming together here.  On paper it's got all the things we like: Kilchoman's peaty young fiery malt with PX finish at cask strength.  But it's sort of like all the worst qualities of all these things.  Not much of the classic Kilchoman white chocolate smoothness, with a really harsh ashtray peat thing going on, and the sherry influence is very sweet but kind of floating over the peat and disconnected.  Perhaps this was a quick sherry finish that didn't have time to integrate with the malt?  Unclear but this one's a pass.

Kilchoman Sherry Finish Single Cask 115.8 Proof

Nose: More in the pocket here with grassy farmy herbals, lots of smoke, some of those roasted nuts, chocolate and nougat. 

Palate: Definitely digging the straight sherry finish.  Very smooth with some nice red grapes, ripe fall fruits, and little pops of hot spicy chiles.  

Finish: Nice, long, and incredibly drinkable at cask strength.  Like most of the Kilchoman single casks we've tried, this is a real treat.  Definitely one to check out.

Conclusions

Ok so... weird... we really didn't dig the PX.  Maybe it's an age thing, most of the PX cask whiskies we've tried have been much older.  Maybe it takes some time for that pairing to work.  In any case, if you still haven't tried Kilchoman you definitely need to dive in.  The Machir Bay or the 100% Islay (home grown, "farm-to-bottle" barley grown right on Islay!) are awesome places to start.  The Loch Gorm sherry finish is delicious, and if you can find some of the cask strength single barrels definitely pick one up.  Maybe skip the PX finish, kind of disappointing, but grab the straight sherry finish and enjoy.  The perfect young malt for a chilly spring evening to enjoy with old friends.  

Cheers/SB

A Pair of Single Barrel Gems from Kilchoman - Impex and Binny's Exclusive Barrel Picks!

September 11, 2014

A Pair of Single Barrel Gems from Kilchoman - Impex and Binny's Exclusive Barrel Picks!

We're really quite nuts for Kilchoman.  They've got this raw young energy bursting with peat, smoke, and fresh farm-to-bottle quality that sets our senses reeling.  When we found out that our friends at Impex (the guys that import The Exclusive Malts) were doing a barrel pick of Kilchoman - aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels and finished in Pedro Ximinex sherry barrels (did we mention that's our favorite combination??) we got very pumped indeed.  Very pumped indeed.  And how better to taste this new young Islay beauty than head-to-head with another Impex Kilchoman private cask, the "Barrel Room" pick from Binnys?  Here for your reading pleasure are these two new sherried beauties lined up for a classic SmokyBeast kind of evening...

Impex Exclusive Kilchoman, Cask 494
Distilled 10/2/2008, bottled 1/29/2014, 119.2 proof

Nose:  Classic Kilchoman:  smoldering peat, fresh farm grains, white chocolate, sweet grapes, little flecks of celery, pepper flakes, mint, tarragon, thyme, and a hint of vanilla / baking powder.  

Palate:  Again. like we've come to expect from Kilchoman...  While the nose is big in-your-face peat smoke, the tongue is soft, round, and mellow.  Chewy and thick for such a young malt, we get black licorice covered in chocolate (Good & Plenty anyone?), smoked trout, and crispy sage.  An all out fresh attack on the senses, totally unexpected and totally awesome.  

Finish:  And we're back to the deep long smoke & peat finish.  Living right up to its expectation as the new young beast from Islay.  Smoke just crawls up your jaw and the sides of your mouth.  The little plums and strawberry jam of the sherry make themselves present on the finish.  And the big cask strength spirit warmth doesn't shy away, but also doesn't overwhelm - just sitting perfectly in the pocket with the big flavors of this whisky.  We didn't even think of adding water at almost one hundred and twenty proof!  Enough said...

Kilchoman Single Cask 3010 

"The Barrel Room" for Binny's Chicago

This awesome bottle was one of the warriors in our Battle of the Beasts and scored really well against some legendary peat monsters.  It's still available at Binny's.  Granted $110 is a little expensive for a 5-year malt, but this may be the last cask strength single sherry cask Kilchoman you'll be able to get for a while.  (we bought two, one for drinking and one for good measure!)

Tasting Notes

Nose:  Very strong compact and punchy smoke.  Like match heads, surrounded by some florals - tarragon, lilies, then the familiar salted nuts, cocoa, olive oil.  This one feels less sweet and chocolaty and more punchy and smoky.  A diesel peat lovers dream of a nose.

Palate:  This one stays strong in the smoke right through the palate.  Smoldering campfire rocks, sea air, hot spicy mesquite bbq.  The sherry influence is more tannic and adds an herbal tartness that goes really well with the smoke.  

Finish:  On and on for days, this one is a delicious tight smoky beast.  First class peat-head finish.  

Conclusions

What is there to say except the Kilchoman is a smoky beast kind of dram!  The Impex exclusive barrel is rounder and has more sweetness to it, while the Binny's selection is more straight ahead smoky and powerful.  They're both awesome and showcase the freshness and flat out ballsy young Islay style pioneered by Kilchoman.  If you haven't yet tried the new Islay (Kilchoman is the first new Islay distillery in 150 years!), start with one of their core offerings: Machir Bay or Loch Gorm.  If you fall in love like we did, pick up one of these single casks for a real knock out.  You can end any whisky tasting with this bad boy and it's sure to be remembered!  

Cheers/SB

P.S.!!!  We just got word that Kilchoman is releasing a PX cask as an addition to their standard line.  Awesome news!  Stay tuned for a review as soon as we can get our hands on some.  

Battle of the Beasts Finale - The Baddest Beast in the Land!

June 16, 2014

Battle of the Beasts Finale - The Baddest Beast in the Land!

It All Comes Down...

To this!  We lined up four of the greatest beasts in the land, assembled our ninja drinking team, tasted them blind until our peat receptors were fried beyond belief, and here at long last are the results.  We are ready to officially declare the winner of Battle of the Beasts!

Ok so without further ado...

SmokyBeast Ninja Guest Judge #1

Benny Wolowitz





Tis' Which The Smokiest of the Beasts?

#1 - Octomore
#2 - Kilchoman
#3 - Supernova
#4 - Lagavulin

Choose Your Favorite Beast!

#1 - Octomore
#2 - Supernova
#3 - Lagavulin
#4 - Kilchoman

Aye, so Doctor Wolowitz truly is a lover of the smoke!  He picked out the highest ppm and declared it his favorite.  Octomore is truly a badass beast.  Crickey!




SmokyBeast Ninja Guest Judge #2

Bram Hoogendijk





Tis' Which The Smokiest of the Beasts?

#1 - Supernova
#2 - Kilchoman
#3 - Octomore
#4 - Lagavulin

Choose Your Favorite Beast!

#1 - Kilchoman
#2 - Lagavulin
#3 - Octomore
#4 - Supernova

And our first upset comes from the Dutchman!  Bram ranked the two smoke-bombs his least favorite, and found the Octomore less smoky than the Kilchoman.  Interesting how ppm doesn't always equate exactly to the sensation of smokiness.  And very interesting that the young upstart Kilchoman trumped the very sought-after Supernova!

SmokyBeast Ninja Guest Judge #3

Joshua Gershon Feldman





Tis' Which The Smokiest of the Beasts?

#1 - Octomore
#2 - Supernova
#3 - Kilchoman
#4 - Lagavulin

Choose Your Favorite Beast!

#1 - Kilchoman
#2 - Octomore
#3 - Supernova
#4 - Lagavulin

Aha!  Well Josh doesn't claim the title Director of SmokyBeast Special Operations for nothing.  He picks the ppm straight down the line.  But then, what's this???  Kilchoman strikes #1 favorite again!  Even from a veteran bog-sniffer like Josh, the rookie takes the gold!

Judge #4

Mrs. SmokyBeast






Tis' Which The Smokiest of the Beasts?

#1 - Supernova
#2 - Octomore
#3 - Kilchoman
#4 - Lagavulin

Choose Your Favorite Beast!

#1 - Supernova
#2 - Lagavulin
#3 - Octomore
#4 - Kilchoman

Let it be said that wifey has never sat down to a tasting and failed to pick the most expensive are rare whiskey as her favorite.  (Yes, it's the same with jewelry).  So it's no surprise that she sniffed out Supernova as the #1.  It's also no surprise that Lagavulin was #2, since Lag 16 was her first malt love!

And The Winner Is...

Tis' The Smokiest!!!

D'oh!  Who's idea was it to have four judges?  Bad hubby.  We have a tie.  Two votes for Octomore and two votes for Supernova as the smokiest beast in the land.  Who woulda thunk it???  Well sorry folks we'll just have to repeat the uber-scientific blind study next year.  For now, hubby's vote breaks the tie in favor of the Octomore.  In terms of pure smokiness, it's totally over the top.

The Smokiest of the Beasts!

Tis' The Tastiest of the Beasts!!!

Well the dark horse took the win with two votes!  It's not that surprising, we've been shouting from the rooftops how delicious Kilchoman is, particularly the cask strength sherry barrels (please guys, more single barrel sherry casks!!!).  But it is notable that two of our judges picked this very special Kilchoman barrel over the likes of Supernova, Lagavulin, and Octomore.  Perhaps being last in this competition was an advantage.  Once our palates were thoroughly destroyed by the monsters, this one came out with a delicacy that hit the palate like a blessing.  But it's not just the order, since we had enough in the ample pours of this tasting to go back through and compare each one head to head.  No the Kilchoman would be something special no matter where it sat in the lineup.

The Tastiest of the Beasts!!

Well that's all she wrote.  The Battle of the Beasts is done.  But we have a feeling that this may not be the final battle.  We'll save some of our legendary beasts and wait for another fire-breathing inspiration to strike.  Stay tuned!

Cheers/SB

Battle of the Beasts Part Four: Kilchoman Barrel Room

June 11, 2014

Battle of the Beasts Part Four: Kilchoman Barrel Room

The Final Contender

Battle of the Beasts continues with our final contender, Kilchoman Barrel Room Sherry Cask #3010.

Ok so Ardbeg and Bruichladdich made a lot of whiskey.  It's not really fair to compare their special release extra-peated bottles with Kilchoman's standard bottling.  While Kilchoman hasn't released a more heavily peated bottle, we were able to snag a cask strength single barrel from their "Barrel Room" selection which was available at Binny's in Chicago.  (hint - it was still available online as of yesterday...).

Now honestly maybe Kilchoman shouldn't be in this contest.  First of all, they probably wouldn't put themselves in the same category as smoke monsters like Supernova and Octomore.  When we did our interview with Kilchoman, James explained that they were going for a middle ground between the heavy smoke of the southern Islay distilleries (Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg) and the lighter style of Bunnahabhain up north.  Well we'll be honest, we don't like Bunna nearly as much as we like Kilchoman.  Yes, they do pull off a huge amount of finesse with their malts.  But thank God they're still really smoky, and that's a great thing.

We decided to stick with this one because it's our favorite new scotch bar none, end of conversation.  And we wanted to see how some of our aficionados compared it to some of the famous Islays.  We feel like it holds up nicely in terms of smokiness and adds a wonderful flavor element, particularly with the sherry cask aging.  Anyway we hope we're not showing any disrespect by throwing this beautiful beast into this mix, but here goes!

SmokyBeast Tasting Notes

Nose:  We've always loved the mixture of sherry and peat, particularly the way the aroma mixes up grapes and smoke into a thick fruity chutney.  There's a new complexity here with some curry and deep candies: chocolate covered cherries and peanuts.

Palate:  Very sweet and soft on the palate.  More nuts, chocolate, and fruits.

Finish:  Long finish with good balance of heat, smoke, and sweets.  You can definitely sense (like with all Kilchomans) a few unique characteristics: quality of the spirit - you can tell it's not an old malt, but it has such a quality of the underlying spirit that it doesn't come off hot or young; freshness - there's like a grassy, farm fresh bouquet and taste to it that really speaks to the farm-to-table approach; and balance - equal parts smoke monster, subtle perfumy white chocolate, and rich malty sherry cask.


Guest Judge Comments

"Amber.  Nose: Herbal, peaty, grassy, farmy, musky!  Color says sherry.  Nose says 60%.  This one is great, my favorite!"

"Sherry nose, caramel, flowers, tastes like Octomore!"

"Nose- smoke blowing in your face while cooking on the beach (haulover beach is probably too specific).   Palate- malty, peaty and some nuttiness from a sherry finish.  Finish - intense but medium in length. Lots of char from the barrel comes through.  Notes- darkest in color. Also seemed the most familiar and expected. I'd guess Lagavullin"


Hey, look at that, just like we thought, our judges were fooled!  One thought it was Octomore, another Lagavulin, and it got the favorite of a third judge!  We're not surprised, this one holds up extremely well against older and more well-known Islays.  Wonder what would have happened if this wasn't a blind tasting???

So that's it for our contenders.  Tune in soon for the finale where we show all the judges rankings and declare the winner of Battle of the Beasts!

Review: Kilchoman Machir Bay, The "It" Beast

December 4, 2013

Review: Kilchoman Machir Bay, The "It" Beast

"As fearfully as doth a gallèd rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit"

Islay

Once more unto the breach our friends, we find ourselves on the island of Islay.  The home of the mythical Hebridean beasts that lived in peat bogs as thick as the Amazon and breathed smoke from their nostrils that would kill a mere mortal man by scent alone.

Map of Islay by Jason Hicklin

To the east:

Coal Ila, founded 1846

Bowmore, founded 1779

Bunnahabhain, founded 1881  

To the south:

Ardbeg, founded 1815

Laphroaig, founded 1815

Lagavulin, founded 1742

Big boys.  

So big in fact that no one dared to build a new distillery on Islay for over a hundred and twenty years. But then, in 2005, tucked into the northwest peninsula of the island, a new beast was born.  Free from the corporate domesticity that had tamed its elders, this young, wild, and ferocious creature drank freely from the local springs, grazed on the thick of its native barley, and grew to breathe a smoke so dense and dark that its fire was rumored to burn the earth and boil the oceans.  

or something like that...

Kilchoman

We're speaking, or course, about Kilchoman.  And if you follow scotch, you're already talking about it too.  There's something going on with this distillery that's got people going nuts.  It's that intangible "It" factor, that nod and raise of the eyebrow among whiskyphiles that makes a brand blow up.  And when you're at a whisky show where the average scotch is twelve to twenty-five years old but there's a line of people waiting to taste a five year old spirit, you know something unique is happening.  

Family Business

Anthony Wills founded Kilchoman in 2005.  We met his son James, who currently runs sales & marketing for the distillery, at a whisky event in New York a couple of months ago.  James grew up living and breathing in the world of single malt and has a great perspective on where the industry is today.  Below is part one our conversation with James along with a review of Kilchoman Machir Bay, their core bottling.  Stay tuned for the rest of the interview and reviews of their other offerings: Loch Gorm Sherry Cask, and 100% Islay.

Son, we've got something to talk to you about...

What was it like when your father decided to open a distillery?

I can remember when my father actually sat us down and said, ‘Now we’ve got something to talk to you about.’ And it was me and my two brothers. And maybe a year or two earlier my uncle had had a similar discussion and he’d told us that they were going to have another baby after having a ten year gap. And so immediately my mind though 'My God, what is this going to be about?'  And then it wasn’t that my mother was pregnant, but that we were moving to Islay and dad was going to set up the distillery. And I had no idea what that was going to involve.

What were the early days like?

I claim to have done every job in the distillery. When the stills first arrived, I was the one up on a stepladder polishing them. I worked in the still house for six months. During university holidays I worked in the café. And I have to say the hardest working people in all of the distillery are the guys that work in the café and the visitors center. The guys have got it easy in the still house.

It’s been a very interesting and rewarding experience. Well I can say rewarding now because things are beginning to move in the right direction. There was a big period of time where my father was in a constant battle for more funding and just trying to going to keep it going. It’s by no means been all positive, it’s been a real struggle to get where we are now. But things are beginning to come together.

Were there any lessons you learned through those early times?

James Wills

Throughout all the periods of time where we have been short of cash one thing that has now proved to be massively important is that we have never compromised on how we produce the spirit. So there were lots of ways that we could have produced something that was more cost effective, but we wanted to produce something that was first and foremost a good whisky.  I guess we realized that if you’re going to sell scotch whisky to scotch whisky enthusiasts, there’s no pulling the wool over people’s eyes. You’re judged on the contents of the bottle rather than the packaging when you’re talking about that area of the market. 

Tell us about some of those choices...

In terms of raw ingredients, we don’t make as much whiskey per ton of barley when we’re using the malt that we grow ourselves.  And in terms of how we run the equipment, we’ve got a very long fermentation time which takes up a lot of capacity.  And the way that we run our stills, we only take a small cut, which means that we produce a clean spirit which means that it's faster maturing.  And then with the casks, we source all our bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace. 

How are things different today?

Certainly this year we’ve seen a big change.  Last year we had these limited editions like the Loch Gorm and the 100% [Islay] which we only released about 10,000 bottles of worldwide. Last year they were taking perhaps 6 months to sell through from the distillery, and this year they sold on allocation. So this time we’ve been telling distributors how much we can send them which is a nice position to be in.

To be continued...  Now on to the tasting!

Machir Bay

Nose:  Salted white chocolate floating on a sea of peat.  Very strong smoke, but beautifully balanced with the sweetness and ocean breeze saltiness.

Palate:  Ok the nose was BIG smoke, so we're getting ready for some Laphroaig-
style fire.  A hearty burn on the back of the throat, some sandpaper and raw pepper.  How close are we?  One hundred and eighty degrees wrong!  The palate is completely clean.  It's light... olive oil and lemon on the tongue.  Some sweet tangerines and a little bit of candied nuts.

Finish:  The peat comes back for a little heat right on the swallow.  Then it's a long and round finish with wet campfire stones smoldering smoke up the back of the throat and across the roof of the mouth.  All the sweetness, chocolate and citrus come back, with the addition of a little white oak and green grapes.

Review:  This is a really unique dram.  The nose is awesome: huge smoke, sea brine, rock salt chocolate.  The palate is superbly clean and fresh.  The finish is a great balance between those two.  Rarely have we found these characteristics together in a scotch.  Perhaps this could only happen in a young spirit that retains its rawness but is superbly handled for a clean and sweet result.  A must try for peat lovers!

Click here for part two of our interview with James Wills and review of the rest of the Kilchoman line!

Cheers/SB