It’s not difficult to understand that behind this limited edition bottling there are ambitions of crafting an artisanal product. Much less simple is moving from the idea of marketing to the facts, and that’s the way Kilchoman does it: you use only barley grown on Islay, grown directly in owned fields in front of the distillery, you malt it on your own malting floor (entirely dedicated to the production of a lightly peated malt, 20 ppm, only used for this bottling), distillation, ageing (first-filling ex bourbon barrels only) and bottling all in situ. Luckily at least the consumption is not limited to Islay: they have the good heart to send the few bottles produced each year with the 100% Islay label wandering around the world. This is the seventh release, shortly the eighth will be released and thanks to the intercession of the importer we will have the good fortune to present a preview at the next Whisky Revolution Festival in Castelfranco, within a memorable tasting: a vertical with all eight releases, one after the other…
N: very sharp and with a good personality, but delicate at the same time. We nose a stinging and intense sea air (it seems to be just on the ferry, to smell the splashes full lungs) and chamomile flowers, saffron, green lemon, lime… The pastry side isn’t on top, however this whisky is aged in ex first fill barrels, and so here it is a vanilla cream. Then there are also pine needles and eucalyptus, forming a very pleasant balsamic side. Dried seaweed.
P: at first it is powerful, full bodied, still with an irrefutable saltiness. Behind this first clear note, here comes the barrel, with hints of vanilla, pastry cream, even licorice. It has then herbaceous notes, slightly bitter, and then saffron and a touch of sugary chamomile. The taste of malt is evident, sweet and delicious. We did not mention peat: you can feel the smoke, but a little all in all.
F: delicate yet long and persistent, all played on the dichotomy sea and cream.
Years ago we were disappointed with the inaugural release of the 100% islay series. After 7 years, we would say that “there has been water under bridges…”. What at the time seemed to be a young whisky (about 3 years old), tossed around by barrels eager to give personality, today has become a bottling of great depth and balance, while remaining a relatively young whiskey (this 2017 is a vintage 2010). As some wise men predicted, Kilchoman took little to establish himself as an excellent distillery on Islay, and the expansion works, with a new malting floor planned, are perhaps the culmination of the path begun in 2005. Meanwhile we give this 100% Islay a nice 88/100.
Recommended soundtrack: Robyn Adele Anderson – Lullaby of Birdland (Ella Fitzgeral cover)
