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.
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Previous Marsala Cask Finish bottlings from Kilchoman
| Release | Cask No. | Cask Filled | Bottled | Maturation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for SMCC (Camping Series, #2) | 586/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 09.03.2022 | Finish |
| Marsala Finish Single Cask for The Distillery Shop | 587/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 24.03.2022 | Finish: 7 months |
| Marsala Cask Finish for the Whisky Trail | 1011/2014 | 18.12.2014 | 30.04.2022 | Finish |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for Taiwan | 1015/2014 | 18.12.2014 | 12.07.2022 | Finish |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for SMCC (The Birth of Kilchoman Story, #2) | 590/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 19.07.2022 | Finish |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for The Distillery Shop | 46/2013 | 31.01.2013 | 22.08.2022 | Finish: 13 months |
| Marsala Finish Single Cask for M&P Cask Collection Club | 591/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 31.08.2022 | Finish: 10 months |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for Enoki Shouten, Japan | 43/2013 | 31.01.2013 | 21.09.2022 | Finish: over 1 year |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish [for smaller markets] | 49/2013 | 31.01.2013 | 22.09.2022 | Finish: 12 months |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish Marius Peat 2nd Edition | 1012/2014 | 18.12.2014 | 03.10.2022 | Finish |
| Small Batch Release for The Kilchoman Club, 11th Edition | 45 & 47/2013, 1014/2014 | 31.01.2013 & 18.12.2014 | 01.12.2022 | Finish: 15 months |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for SMCC | 588/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 20.03.2023 | Finish: 18 months |
| Marsala Finish Single Cask for Whisky Club Nantais 20th anniversary | 589/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 20.01.2023 | Finish: 18 months |
| 10 yo Marsala Cask Finish – ImpEx Cask Evolution 01/2023 | 50/2013 | 31.01.2013 | 11.05.2023 | Finish: 18 months |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for Taichung | 1013/2014 | 18.12.2014 | 11.07.2023 | Finish: nearly 2 years |
| 10 yo Marsala Cask Finish for Total Wine & More | 585/2012 | 20.09.2012 | 24.08.2023 | Finish: 2 years |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish – Bresser & Timmer 30th anniversary | 1010/2014 | 18.12.2014 | 16.10.2023 | Finish: over 2 years |
| Marsala Single Cask Finish for The Distillery Shop / “Be a Bottler” | 1180/2016 | 19.12.2016 | 30.05.2024 | Finish: nearly 9 month |
| 11 yo Marsala Finish Single Cask for Jens Heiler | 48/2013 | 31.01.2013 | 14.11.2024 | Finish: over 3 years |