Kilchoman Single Cask [348/2007 ?] for Ginza NBA

Cask No.: 348/2007 (?)

Cask type: Refill (?) Bourbon Barrel

Date Filled: 10/2007

Date Bottled: 2010

Age: 3 yo

Strength: 60,2 % abv

Phenol level: 50 ppm

Bottle volume: 0,7 l

Market: Japan

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The Nippon Bartenders Association (NBA), founded in 1929 and headquartered in Tokyo, released three Kilchoman single cask bottlings in 2010 and 2011. For all three bottlings, no or no exact distillation and bottling date was given – otherwise completely unusual for Kilchoman single cask releases.

The bottling listed here from the NBA branch in Tokyo’s Ginza district was the first NBA Kilchoman release. The whisky was matured for a little over three years in an ex-bourbon cask. The cask number is not given. The Whiskybase database lists it as No. 348/2006. This is clearly a mistake: apart from the wrong distillation year, this was also the number of another Japanese bottling, namely the 2009 release ‘Single Cask for 10th Whisky Live! (Japan)’. It may have been cask No. 348/2007.

It is also unclear whether this was a first fill or a refill cask. On the so-called ‘foot label’ on the front of the bottle it says ‘Refill Bourbon Cask’, while the text on the back of the box speaks of a ‘fresh bourbon barrel’. Now, it is important to know that the text on the back of the boxes of the 3-year-old Kilchoman Single Cask releases, which were distributed worldwide in 2010, is always the same. This makes the explicit statement ‘refill’ on the foot label, which is individually printed for each bottle, appear more likely, especially since the whisky also has a slightly lighter colour than the comparable 3-year-old releases from fresh bourbon barrels.

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