After more than four years of whisky blogging I was very surprised to find out I’d never reviewed a Kilchoman whisky. Granted, I don’t drink many heavily peated whiskies, as I don’t own many. It’s not my preferred style. That said, I’m not averse to them at all, and there are some great ones out there.
Like Kilchoman for example. While on the expensive side, I generally like their product. I guess it just never occurred to me to actually write about them. Well, that changes today. As I was sent a sample of the latest Kilchoman to be bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange, I now have no excuse not to write about them.
Kilchoman has only been in operation since 2005, making this Kilchoman 2007 10 Years Old one of the oldest expressions the distillery has ever released. It matured in a first-fill oloroso sherry butt, producing an impressive total of 599 bottles.
Kilchoman 2007 10 Years Old (58,5%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, C#401/2007)
Nose: Peat (fairly medicinal) and charcoal with pineapple, smoked bacon and caramel. It has a layer of spiciness, with cracked black peppercorns, but also some cloves. There’s some oranges here, as well as vanilla and a whiff of pine and tar. Can’t help but be reminded of the Laphroaig 10yo CS.
Taste: Yup, there’s iodine here too, but burnt rubber and peat smoke too. The sherry cask has infused a sweetness into the spirit, but there’s also smoky, charred barbecue meat and black pepper.
Finish: Long with lots of peat and some heat from the spices, before calming down and revealing subtle red fruits and hints of caramel.
Rating: 88
Quite an in your face dram that’ll surely please the peat enthusiast. Like mentioned, I feels this shows some similarities with the Laphroaig 10yo CS, which is a compliment of course.
Sample provided by The Whisky Exchange
