Kilchoman Port Cask 2018
4 years old
50%
Aged in ex-Bourbon casks and then finished in Port casks
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Kilchoman has, in a very short time (2005-2018), became a high end yet affordable Single Malt Scotch. Since it’s opening, Kilchoman has made everything opposite to other distilleries : young whiskies (they don’t have much of a choice but still), simple marketing, and most importantly, almost everything is local. They put great attention to the details in their whiskies, producing a different range of peated, Bourbon and Sherry matured, cask finish and single casks.
Every year Kilchoman releases a special limited line of cask finished whiskies. In 2018, it was a Port cask, a re-toasted red wine and a Sauternes one.
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Colour : ruby red.
Nose : a powerful blend of dry peat and blood orange. Vegetable odors are what strikes first, but after a few sniffs, sugar and spices with candy and cinnamon stand out more.
Palate : medium firm texture, slightly oily. Like the nose, the peat is clearly felt, very wet unlike the nose. After a few sips, you can feel a slight influence of Port wine with plum, wild berries and orange zest.
Finish : warm and slow, long aftertaste of peat.
Comments : is it good? Yes. Is it signed Kilchoman? Yes. Would I buy a bottle? No Unfortunately. It’s good, but the influence of port casks is not enough for me. Peat dominates the other flavors too much. I would have liked to see it more in the style of 100% Islay where it felt much fresher and lemony.
Not a bad dram at all in the end, just not standing out enough compared to other Kilcho and port casks whiskies.
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Big thank you to Patrick Desjardins for the sample and the nice pictures 😀
