The third sample in a row from The Whisky Exchange. This time a Kilchoman from a bourbon cask, specially released for their The Whisky Show.

I’m not going to talk too much about Kilchoman since everybody has already done that and since they only opened a couple years ago, there’s not much to tell anyway. Their whisky’s surprisingly good for it’s age.

The main reason I’ve never really hooked on to the distillery is the price of each bottle. I’ve bought a couple when they initially started releasing their first bottlings. I already sold most of what I bought since the prices became rather ridiculous and the whisky wasn’t that good.

They’re currently releasing quite a few bottlings over the year with a fairly big number of private casks too. They usually clock in just below € 100. This is exactly where my personal issue with the distillery starts.

I like their whisky. It’s lovely. I also find it very, very expensive. On the other hand, I love what they’re doing and that they built the place from scratch. But still, a hundred bucks for a 4 or 5 year old whisky? I have trouble shelling out like that. On the other hand, this plays right in the cards of the eternal NAS discussion, since we can easily state that these 100 euro 5 year old whiskies are as tasty, if not better, than many more expensive whiskies.

Kilchoman for TWE. Great stuff

Sniff:
The peat is very present, but very clean and gentle. Heather, light vanilla, meadow flowers. There’s also some mint there. Quite spicy, but I’m having a hard time pinpointing the scent. Peaty lime if that is a thing.

Sip:
Ridiculously sharp at first, but while the heat lingers, the other flavours become more gentle. Syrupy vanilla, white pepper, alcohol. Also heather and peat, so Islay in a glass, more or less. Sweeter lime and some candy sweetness.

Swallow:
The peat is very Ardbeg-like here. Clean, strong and slightly ashy. Again, the Islay flavours of heather. Oak, vanilla, rather floral.

Maybe I should start paying more attention to Kilchoman again. Maybe I should shell out for these bottlings, since they are rather epic. I think, although it would still sting to spend a hundred bucks on stuff that’s just barely legally whisky, this stuff is pretty awesome.

It’s not overly complex, but the flavours that are present are quite pronounced, and there is something to discover. As in, not overly complex, but neither is this a simple dram. I like that this is how I always expect good Ardbeg to taste (at younger ages) but Ardbeg is somehow off my drinking radar too (‘investment’ radar is different).

So in short, this is awesome whisky. I stand corrected in my Kilchoman statement.

Kilchoman 2008-2013, 4yo, 61%, bourbon cask, OB for The Whisky Show 2013. Surprisingly it’s still available at TWE for £ 75

Again, thanks to Billy and The Whisky Exchange for the sample!