Kilchoman 100% Islay 7th Edition released

Yesterday, 1st May, Kilchoman released the “100% Islay 7th Edition”. This year’s bottling of the series was distilled in 2010 and produced from barley grown, malted, distilled, matured and bottled at the distillery. The whisky was matured for over 7 years in fresh and refill ex-bourbon barrels, making it the longest matured edition of the “100% Islay” releases to date.

Production manager Robin Bignal writes: »The development of the 100% Islay casks from the Inaugural release up to this, the oldest 100% Islay release, has been intriguing to see. As the bourbon barrel maturation influences the spirit over time it has taken on a real depth of character and complexity to add to the light citrus fruit and peat smoke of the Kilchoman spirit.«

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Cask type: Fresh and Refill Bourbon Barrels

Vintage: 2010

Bottled: 04/2017

Age: 7 yo

Strength: 50,0 % abv

Phenol level: approx. 20 ppm

Number of bottles: unknown

Bottle size: 0,7 l / 0,75 l

Bottle code: 100 21.04.17 17/38

Barcode: 5 060210 701253

Distribution: worldwide

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Tasting Notes

Colour: light gold

Nose: dry peat smoke rather discreet, behind it only slightly and fresh pear compote sweetness (this is not so the strawberry – i.e. typical but attenuated Kilchoman note), but then you quickly get vanilla, coconut, honey and nut to the fore, and darker tones: somewhat floor wax and quite clearly (when water is added) moist sawdust

Taste: oily, very sweet, strawberry (here more than in of the nose) and yellow fruits, clearly musty, spicy, also here a little
honey and nut, slightly bitter at the end, hardly metallic

Finish: medium length, warming, spicy, only very light bitterness

Conclusion: very palatable, increase in age clearly detectable: honey, nuts and even floor polish, this time hardly bitter; on the whole much more complex than the beginnings of the series (HPN 26.5.2017)