Kilchoman 360° Online Fèis Ìle on June 3

Kilchoman has today announced further details of the Kilchoman Day programme at this year’s Fèis Ìle Islay Festival.
Although the festival, like last year, can only be held online due to the COVID restrictions, under the title 360° FÈIS ÌLE, Kilchoman has made it their mission to show visitors on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube every inch of Kilchoman!

With a 360° experience that allows you to scroll up, down, left and right on the screen, the aim is to explore every corner of the distillery and the whisky-making process. Accompanied by various members of the Kilchoman team, the route takes you from the barley field to the bottling hall, across the courtyard, into the malting floor, deep into the still house and through the warehouses, almost like you´re there yourself.

Here is the full schedule (Islay Time):

12 Noon – “Kilchoman DNA” Live Tasting.

The programme begins with an online tasting. The first will be a tasting of the two Core Range whiskies Machir Bay and Sanaig at cask strength, plus the Loch Gorm 2021 and the 100% Islay 2021 to be released at the end of the year.

13.00 – On the Farm. Islay Heads, the general manager of Kilchoman, will give a tour of Rockside Farm: from the barley fields where different types of barley grow to the sheep and cattle on the farm.
Afterwards, you can ask him questions live during a Q&A at around 13.30.

14.00 – Malting and Peating. Derek Scott, maltman at Kilchoman, will tell all about the traditional floor maltings at Kilchoman, the equipment used and how to achieve the perfect germination of the barley.
Around 14.30 there will also be a Q&A with him.

15.00 – In the Stillhouse. Production Manager Robin Bignal will guide you through all the production steps in the stillhouse, from milling and mashing to fermentation and distillation.
Followed by live Q&A with Robin – approx. 15.30.

16.00 – Maturing in the Warehouse. Kilchoman founder and Managing Director Anthony Wills will give insights into the process of cask maturation, discover how he created the Kilchoman range of whiskies and what experimental casks may be lurking in the dark corners of the warehouse.
At around 16.30 there will be a Q&A session, giving visitors the opportunity to ask Anthony questions in person.

17.00 – Vatting and Bottling. The final steps in the whisky-making process – vatting and bottling – are explained in detail by Michel Besser, who manages these final stages of production at Kilchoman.
Approx. 17.30: Q&A with Michel.

18.00 – “Through the Ages” Live Tasting. At the second live tasting, you can follow 15 years of Kilchoman cask maturation. Starting with the New Make Spirit, the path leads through cask samples from 2016 and 2011 to a sample from cask No. 04/2006, for most Kilchoman fans the very first opportunity to taste a 15-year-old Kilchoman whisky.

19.15 – “Experimental Cask” Live Tasting. The third and last Live Tasting is dedicated to the more unusual cask types used by Kilchoman: Cognac Cask 737/2016, Calvados Cask 356/2018, STR Cask 207/2018 and Port Cask 480/2014.

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In our opinion, Kilchoman presents here, as last year, a well thought-out and highly interesting programme for all whisky lovers!

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Pictures by Kilchoman Distillery & Berit Neumann