Kilchoman 2007 single sherry cask [TWE exclusive]

if you’re been following the TWE site. you may have noticed there’s a new Kilchoman Exclusive bottled for TWE…  A 10 year old Kilchoman, can’t be bad right? I remember the times when Kilchoman was pretty young and only chugging out 3 yo expression, and I was saying to myself, in a few year’s time they are going to be bottling whisky so damn good, if this is what we’re getting at 3 yo.. And this time, I was right. It seems Kilchoman are getting better and better, and since their starting point was quite amazing, those older bottlings are just absulutely cracking. I was extremely happy and curious to try this new one…

Distilled in 2007, just two years after the distillery opened on Islay, this whisky was aged for 10 years, making it one of the oldest Kilchomans around. It was aged in a sherry cask and bottled at a very cool 58.5%, meaning we’ve got plenty of OOMPH, and power, and it’s not too old to be a peat kicker, but not too young as to have gained quite nicely from the cask. Shall we try?

Kilchoman 2007 single sherry cask TWE exclusive , 10 yo,  58.5% , £125 (available online @ TWE)

Nose: a lovely melange of aromas, starting with Manuka honey, fresh ground pepper, whiffs of peat, cinnamon and pine needles. Rich and sweet, with the medicinal peat emerging amidst all this,  and with time the peat reek gets stronger and some musty Dunnage notes and damp forest notes appear.. 
Palate : big, spicy entry. Lots of sweet and hot chili, black pepper, BBQ meat marinade, more pine needles, mint and soot. Quite medicinal, with coal fire,, more pepper and oak. Peppermint gum. It’s big! 
Finish : sweet and spicy smoke. Pepper, cinnamon ashes and sooty coals. Cinnamon gum, hints of tar, salt. 

In short:

This is a cracking whisky, and a wonderful example of how good Kilchoman whiskies are. At 10 years old it packs enough punch to please any Peat-Head and is complex enough to entertain any serious whisky drinker. The sherry cask adds another layer of complexity, without masking the original distillate profile, the smoke, mint and pine needles mix wonderfully well. It’s just a dram that you’ll want to drink and spend some time with, as it does reveal more layers after a few minutes of rest in the glass. 58,5% and very more-ish.  Highly recommended.

I am not sure how older Kilchomans will taste like at 18 / 20 years, but I have a feeling we’re up for a treat, in a few year’s time.

Score: 90/100

Available exclusively at The Whisky Exchange

 

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