Kilchoman Machir Bay (2020 Edition)

Note - I'm doing the Really Good Whisky Company Advent Calendar. I've also decided to pour these whiskeys "blind" (or at least as blind as I can), then providing nose, palate, and finish notes. I'll then look at the label, proof, cask type, etc. before writing my other notes. I'll be providing some guesses around things like proof and cask type and then seeing how much I missed the mark. Slàinte Mhath! Nose: Yum! Iodine, brine, sea spray, and is that peat?! This is either Islay or Island - sticking with the former here. Behind the Islay character there's some toasted grains and honey. Also lovely touches of vanilla, fruits, and oak. Very approachable nose - 46% or so maybe? Maybe some non ex-bourbon cask? Ex-wine? If there's sherry then it's either a small percentage or it was used for finishing. Very mildly floral, citrus oil brightness buried in there, as well. Lack of new make funk and lighter oak makes me want to guess around 10 years. None of that banana character I get so this has to be a single malt. Palate: Brine, honey, oak, fruits. Honeyed toasted cereal grains. Earth and soil. Honeysuckle, orange blossoms, rounded out with some vanilla. Apricots, strawberries - but not in a dense sugary way. Some pepper and nutmeg, though I'm not getting much of a cinnamon vibe. I could probably narrow things down to one of a few distilleries since this doesnt seem to fit the profile of, say, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, or Ardbeg. There's some familiarity to it but I'm not quite sure what it is. This washes over the palate beautifully, especially prominent on the middle/back. This has some solid balance, though not much depth or "bass". Medium light mouthfeel. Finish: Herbs, brine, earth, and some whisps of smoke. Light, sweet oak character sets the stage for vanilla, citrus oils, and light fruits. Slowly things evolve and there's some reasonable tannins presenting. Eventually everything settles down into some ash, oak, and vanilla pleasantly fading away. Medium long length. Other notes: Ahhh yes. Kilchoman Machir Bay. A beautiful example of Islay, and a bottle I had the pleasure of buying a few years ago. I got the proof bang-on, the cask types pretty bang-on (their site says roughly 90% ex-bourbon, 10% oloroso sherry), the region bang-on. This is an NAS bottling so I can't confirm the age. That's a small bummer, but I'm not really a stickler for age statements. While I'd like some transparency about what's in the bottle, it's also pretty common to not get into the nitty-gritty like that. This is an excellent expression and one that I completely forgot about. I really need to pick up another, as well as their Sanaig, and go on another deep dive. Before that, however, I need to clear out a few bottles in the cabinet. If times were different, I'd be holding many "blind tasting events" just to help get rid of the stuff. Until then, I guess Christmas trees aren't the only things getting lit this year. Until next time, cheers!

Better than before.

Somewhat viscous, buttery and smokey, with lemon, hay, mushrooms, peat, vanilla and a hint of sherry. Long peppery finish.

A delicious yellow batter birthday cake with hints of lemon salt and Demerara sugar, all with a scrumptious peat backbone. The palate is viscous and almost no burn while finish is long and delicious. I am excited to see how this bottle transitions.

smoked pear. soft fresh meadow grass. a little briny. green barley.

I had started leaning away from peated Scotch in the last few years thinking I didn't enjoy them as much as other types but this one completely changed my mind. Maybe my palate caught up but even people I've had try it since are shocked they enjoy it as much as they do based on the smoke and peat. It's become my go to sipper.

Tropical and dried fruit up front. Turns into a warm smoke as it evolves. The finish carries the bit of sherry finish and a hint of cracked pepper.

Too clean and pure for me. Need some darkness