Kilchoman Machir Bay (2017 Edition)

Nose is sweet Smokey sea water Palate is oily and cloying with a lot of pepper. Plenty of smoke and sweetness still Finish is medium with more smoke and the salt comes back at the end

It's surprising how light the color is for something that has such an obviously strong peat and smoke presence. This is highly reminiscent of Ardbeg. The nose is tremendously complex and balanced without punching you in the face. It's strong, but under control. Ardbeg mixed with some meaty Lagavulin. Such a delicious smell. The peaty is rich there but so is the warmth from the alcohol. This is rich and full of cereal, but it is also sweet, balanced, slightly fruity, and a little herbal. A bigger swig brings out a lot more of the herbal flavor, making it taste more medicinal like Laphroaig 10. In that regard, I guess it has hit Islay bingo. That said, Ardbeg and Lagavulin combined could craft a hybrid that is better than either, Laphroaig is a bit unwelcome here, aside from its grain flavor. A little water makes it taste much more like Laphroaig 10. In fact, it becomes hard to distinguish, unfortunately. The bitterness of Band-Aids comes out and the flavors balance each other less. It becomes a much more aggressive drink. As much as I am disappointed by the Laphroaig flavor, judging this just based on the best flavor that it can produce with its ABV (in this case, like many, that's the cask strength), it's very good. Unfortunately, the watered flavor does not taste good enough to warrant the price and the unwatered flavor is quite good but is not good enough to warrant the price either. Watering it down further, some more sweetness comes out. While that is a nice reversal, the flavors then become uncomplementary. The whole thing tastes appropriately strong, but it also tastes like there is a lot of mismatched inspiration here. Some fruitiness comes forward and the whole thing is still very rich, but it isn't as delightfully flavored as it should be. It's only the slightest bit better than Laphroaig 10.

Looks like I have the 2017 edition. Poured neat the color is very light but so is Ledaig 10. Nose has a farm like quality like a bucket of right from the cow milk. Of course there is smoke along with earthy malt and youthful wood. Palate is filtered smoke with malt and light French vanilla coffee. Despite the lack of aging it is very refined. Finish is long carrying the smoke and creamy malt/coffee with gentle non drying barrel. Pretty tasty indeed reminds me of Bunna Toiteach profile with the smoky vanilla. This of course means I now have to try their other expressions....darn........89/100......If you enjoy Islay this is worth it

Pour 12/14 of 1/4 oz pours at a whisky club I'm in. Nice with notes of vanilla, citrus, caramel, peat, smoke, dried fruit, and pepper.

On the nose, you can tell this is decently youthful. The fresh and young malt is apparent. This coupled with the peat smoke gives a unique bouquet compared to other Islay whiskies. It’s definitely an Islay whisky because of the nature of the smoke, but everything else is unique. The nose gives off the scent of fresh, green produce still covered in earth. The smoke is more like Lagavulin and Caol Ila rather than Ardbeg and Laphroaig. It’s very bright and less “bonfire-like.” On the palate, the smoke is very enlightening and bright and the fresh malt flavors persist. On the flip side, this is not what I would consider rich. The approach is simple and is no-nonsense. It comes, gives you what you want, then it’s on it’s way. It’s pretty light in mouthfeel. It’s still reasonably complex and delicious and pretty easy to drink for an Islay, but the richness isn’t as prominent compared to that of Lagavulin, Laphroaig, and Ardbeg. While not as rich, still a whisky I love drinking and tasting.