It has been matured for three years in first fill and refill bourbon casks bought from Buffalo Trace. After that, it was finished in oloroso butts for two and a half months and vatted with non-finished (ex-bourbon) Kilchoman. Kudos to the distillery for explaining precisely what’s in the bottle.

Kilchoman 3yo 2006 ‘Autumn 2009 release’ (46%, OB 2009, 10.000 btl.)

Nose: starts in a similar way as the first release, but it doesn’t take long before this one shows more fruit. Another (small) step away from the new-make notes. Firm peat and extinguished cigarette notes, but also more maritime hints this time. More pepper as well. Hints of black olives. Faint whiffs of cinnamon and caramelized ginger – the start of spicy notes developed by the wood! Interesting how it constantly switches from sweet to savoury flavours while swirling the glass. Mouth: fat, oily peat. It doesn’t seem to get much grip though, the attack of the Inaugural release seems stronger to me. Some sweeter notes, fading quickly and making way for a very dry bitterness that evolves to soapy notes in the aftertaste. A bit strange and not entirely my taste. Finish: rather earthy peat with hints of nutmeg.

On the nose: perfectly enjoyable with an impressive mixture of sweet, candied notes and briney peat. On the palate, I felt disappointed with the soapiness as an off-note for me. Better than the Kilchoman 3yo Inaugural release, but no match for the Kilchoman single cask for LMdW. Around € 55.

Score: 79/100

While the regular 3yo was finished in sherry casks, this is the first bourbon version of Kilchoman.

Kilchoman 3yo 2006
(61,1%, OB for LMdW 2009, cask #232)

Nose: amazingly different. Almost none of the banana / rhubarb smell that is so characteristic of new-make. More iodine this time, much more vanilla as well. A great farminess that was completely absent in the regular release. Big peat of course. Mouth: even bigger peat, now accompanied by smoked fish with a generous pinch of salt. I don’t know many whiskies that are this salty, but it works well. Quite unique. Less pepper than the general release. Not much fruit either, some apple maybe in the aftertaste, but certainly on a very low level. Finish on medicinal notes and peat. The smoke stays active for a very long time.

Now we’re talking! This is more or less what I expected from Kilchoman. Kudos to LMdW for making this cask available and to Whiskysamples for sharing their bottle.

Score: 85/100

ps/ I’ve just found out that this spirit was distilled on my birthday!

Kilchoman 3yo ‘Inaugural release’
(46%, OB 2009, 8450 btl.)

Nose: I was a bit disappointed because it’s still close to the last new-make samples, with the usual hints of (artificial) banana and rhubarb. I liked the new-make but my expectations for the extra years were too high, I guess. Full of coal smoke / bonfire of course. Some medicinal associations. Quite some vanilla as well. Hardly any sherry. Mouth: not very punchy at first and a bit unbalanced, but it grows bigger. The full flavours only come out in the aftertaste. Big, both in terms of peatiness and sweetness , although the oak brings some dryness as well. Peppery and smokey. Again no sherry that I can get. Hardly any fruit either for that matter. Finish: very long. Ashtray with some sweet vanilla.

Unlike the new-make releases, this 3yo is in the big boys class now, but I prefer to wait a couple of years longer before getting this for my cabinet. I see potential but given its very limited complexity, I can’t give the current product a whopping score like most other reviewers do, just because of the potential. Anyway, it took about 3 seconds to sell out, so it doesn’t really matter what I say… Around € 55.

I’m still looking forward to a mature Kilchoman by the way!

Score: 75/100

As stocks and batches are probably getting bigger, this will be available for a longer time and there won’t be other seasonal releases in 2011. Kilchoman made a few other announcements for the rest of this year:

• a 100% Islay version available in June
• a 4,5yo fully sherry matured version in September
• the first 5 year old (first fill and refill bourbon) in November

Kilchoman 3 yo ‘Spring 2011 release‘ (46%, OB 2011)

Nose: sweet peat mixed with fruity notes. The peat is maybe not as heavy as you would think. Ashes and tarry ropes. Soaked grains. Pear drops and kiwi. Pencils. Quite good. Mouth: sweet and oily, but the attack is remarkably “open”, as if it only starts to speak after ten seconds. Not much grip, so to speak. After that, it gets briney and peaty. The aftertaste is more fruity again. Finish: smoky and rather earty, with hints of olives.

Well, it seems to go up and down with these seasonal releases. I like the bourbon releases better, no doubt about that. Especially the attack of this release disappointed me.
Around € 45.

Score: 81/100

This single cask was bottled for the Belgian whisky festival Spirits of the Sea. It was distilled on the 10th of October 2007 and bottled on the 14th of October 2010, perfectly timed to call it whisky.

Kilchoman 3 yo 2007
(62,4%, OB 2010, bourbon cask #334)

Nose: starts peaty and sweet with remarkable notes of olive juice and mild green chilli pepper. Quite oily as well. None of the synthetic sweetness that we disliked in earlier Kilchoman. Water brings out ashes and walnuts. Mouth: hugely peaty and smokey with a citrus sweetness and big briney notes. Salt water. Olives again. Water highlights the smoke again. Like a concentrated Laphroaig. Finish: long, half sweet, half briney with a few hints of dark smoked tea. Ashes.

This is one of the best releases I’ve tasted from Kilchoman. It’s also one of the first to hide its age. I would say they’re on their way to success if not for the price: around € 75 seems to be a standard price for recent single casks.

Score: 85/100

ps/ Even though the original price was very heavy already, soon after the festival it was being offered on different websites for € 149 and € 170. You have to be out of your mind to pay such prices. It’s not worth it and I seriously doubt it will become a valuable collectors item if so many are dumped on the market and collected by so many people.

This fits the idea of being a farm distillery producing their own ingredients. It’s similar to Bruichladdich‘s ‘Islay Barley’ bottling, but their barley was still malted on the mainland.

Apart from this regular bottling at 50%, there’s also a limited edition, bottled at cask strength (61,3%) and presented in a hand-crafted American oak box, available for a slightly surreal € 215. As far as I know, it’s a different vatting, not just a different strength.

Kilchoman 3 yo ‘Inaugural 100% Islay’ (50%, OB 2011)

Nose: a powerful attack displaying an almost aggressive youthfulness. Instant lemon / grapefruit aromas, slightly synthetic rhubarb and intense coal smoke. Some grainy vanilla biscuits. Chalk. Faint medicinal notes as well. Mouth: sweet, peaty and smoky. Initially there are the medicinal notes again, but these evolve into softer, sweeter notes. Roasted grain cookies and lemon zest again. Apples. Finish: medium long, peaty with a fruity sweetness and whiffs of pepper.

Until the older releases arrive, Kilchoman can only offer a rather immature whisky (with quite some potential). While this is still the case, they seem to achieve a nicer balance even at the same young age. Quality is going up and so are the prices. Around € 80.

Score: 82/100

Kilchoman ‘Kh1’
(59,7%, Elements of Islay 2011, 50 cl)

Nose: very peaty of course with a rather dry start. Mainly ex-bourbon casks? Gentian. Oily notes and soot. Ashes. After a while it develops faint notes of bandages, then some brina and buttered toast and finally some nice, rounded notes of vanilla. It gets better by the minute. Overall clean and focused, without any of the (too) youngish notes of past official bottlings. Mouth: a little sweeter / maltier. Powerful with quite some peppery hotness. Sweet peat and soot. Medicinal notes. Soft vanilla again. Nice notes of baked apple towards the end. Finish: rounder, still some of these apple notes. Very long and peaty. Slightly grassy in the very end.

One of the best Kilchoman releases I’ve had so far, with a balanced sweet touch alongside the heavy peat. Around € 60 – available from TWE.

Score: 86/100