Kilchoman celebrates its 20th anniversary with a parcel of 20 casks selected by Anthony Wills. They are combined into 4 vattings of five casks each, between 14 and 18 years old: two bourbon bottlings and two sherry bottlings.
I picked the two oldest releases: the 15 Year Old from ex-sherry casks and the 18 Year Old from ex-bourbon barrels.
Kilchoman 18 yo 2006 (46%, OB ’20th Anniversary Series’ 2025, bourbon casks #33, 146, 149, 155, 163, 3153 btl.)
Nose: complex and balanced. A lot of mentholated notes at first, with warming wood smoke and some dried grasses. Then rounder hints of vanilla and butterscotch, along with hints of peaches and citrus. A nice cask influence after all these years.
Mouth: still fresh, with a lot of peat smoke, citrus and mint leaves. Lemon notes, just a hint of caramel and smoked bacon. Then white pepper, hints of carbon and plaster, along with a few briney drops. Still a bit of peach sweetness in the background. There are flashes of Port Ellen, perhaps more than in other distilleries on Islay, although the modest ABV lowers the fun a little.
Finish: medium, with more coastal notes, slightyly acrid smoke and bit of caramel sweetness to round it off.
A really good Kilchoman, the oldest ever bottled, or at least the oldest that I know of. Nice all-round qualities, with the modest ABV as the only showstopper. Very few bottles left in stores.
Kilchoman 15 yo 2008 + 2009 (52,7%, OB ’20th Anniversary Series’ 2025, sherry casks #644, 670 + 16, 444, 513, 1209 btl.)
Nose: quite dark and caramelly, can we assume PX has a big share in this parcel? Molasses, figs and latte with vanilla syrup. Also caramelized nuts and mocha candy. Hints of mead. Then warming smoke and some black peppercorns. Hints of salt and citrus in the distance, countering the caramelly side.
Mouth: a good kick, with a lot of peppery smoke, tobacco leaves, a bit of salt and a hint of roasted pineapple and blood orange. This mingles with a lot of black cherries, cassis jam and figs. Hints of chocolate mints, moving towards cocoa and leafy notes in the end.
Finish: long, with iodine, sooty notes and hints of dark chocolate, as well as drying tobacco leaves.
Quite multi-faceted again – a nice composition of sweeter and drier sherry casks. I may need to try more Kilchoman, although you can’t deny these bottles aren’t exactly cheap. Also hard to find. I bought a sample from Whiskysite.nl. Score: 89/100