Taste Guide: Marsala

In terms of cask type, whiskies matured in Marsala sweet wine casks are among the newer Kilchoman creations.

The first Marsala Finish Single Cask bottling was released in March 2022 exclusively in the Kilchoman Distillery Shop. The Marsala Single Cask Finish for the Chinese importer Single Malt Club China was bottled a few days earlier, but was only released in mid-2022 as part of SMCC’s camping series.  

Since then, just over a dozen other Marsala Finish releases have appeared worldwide.

A wider audience was first introduced to a Kilchoman Marsala finish with the release of the 2022 Kilchoman Club Release on 14 December 2022.

In terms of taste, however, the few previous bottlings already reveal a clear tendency. The sweet vinous notes of the Marsala casks harmonise very well with the somewhat more dominant typical Kilchoman notes (peat smoke, yellow fruits, citrus, malt) and expand the Kilchoman taste spectrum very attractively. Not surprisingly, there are similarities to the Kilchoman Sauternes bottlings.

Marsala wine casks from the Florio winery in Kilchomans Warehouse No. 3

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Previous Marsala Cask Finish bottlings from Kilchoman

ReleaseCask No.Cask FilledBottledMaturation
Marsala Single Cask Finish for SMCC (Camping Series, #2)586/201220.09.201209.03.2022Finish
Marsala Finish Single Cask for The Distillery Shop587/201220.09.201224.03.2022Finish: 7 months
Marsala Cask Finish for the Whisky Trail1011/201418.12.201430.04.2022Finish
Marsala Single Cask Finish for Taiwan1015/201418.12.201412.07.2022Finish
Marsala Single Cask Finish for SMCC (The Birth of Kilchoman Story, #2)590/201220.09.201219.07.2022Finish
Marsala Single Cask Finish for The Distillery Shop46/201331.01.201322.08.2022Finish: 13 months
Marsala Finish Single Cask for M&P Cask Collection Club591/201220.09.201231.08.2022Finish: 10 months
Marsala Single Cask Finish for Enoki Shouten, Japan43/201331.01.201321.09.2022Finish: over 1 year
Marsala Single Cask Finish [for smaller markets]49/201331.01.201322.09.2022Finish: 12 months
Marsala Single Cask Finish Marius Peat 2nd Edition1012/201418.12.201403.10.2022Finish
Small Batch Release for The Kilchoman Club, 11th Edition45 & 47/2013, 1014/201431.01.2013 & 18.12.2014 01.12.2022Finish: 15 months
Marsala Single Cask Finish for SMCC588/201220.09.201220.03.2023Finish: 18 months
Marsala Finish Single Cask for Whisky Club Nantais 20th anniversary589/201220.09.201220.01.2023Finish: 18 months
10 yo Marsala Cask Finish – ImpEx Cask Evolution 01/202350/201331.01.201311.05.2023Finish: 18 months
Marsala Single Cask Finish for Taichung1013/201418.12.201411.07.2023Finish: nearly 2 years
10 yo Marsala Cask Finish for Total Wine & More585/201220.09.201224.08.2023Finish: 2 years
Marsala Single Cask Finish – Bresser & Timmer 30th anniversary1010/201418.12.201416.10.2023Finish: over 2 years
Marsala Single Cask Finish for The Distillery Shop / “Be a Bottler”1180/201619.12.201630.05.2024Finish: nearly 9 month