Kilchoman Machir Bay

Rauchig, torfig

Torfig und rund

Loud, smoky and fruity nose. Buttery and soft taste. Light and not overly strong peat in the mouth. Good.

Straw forward

I’m not sure if there are batch differences as there seems to be a batch on Distiller for every year, so I’ll include here that this is the 2019 batch. This is my first Kilchoman and a huge thank you to @ctbeck11 for giving me the bottle. The nose is soft and light starting with a mix of gentle wafts of peat smoke, caramelized peach and lime zest then lemon poppy seed muffins and cocoa powder dusted toasted nuts followed by kiwi and oven baked salted orange that transition to ginger, fresh opened bandages and a tongue depressor with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a thin mouthfeel starting with a fruity smoky mix of light puffs of pipe smoke intermixed with grilled caramelized peach with lime zest on top then lemon frosted vanilla Angel food cake that then veers towards a chalky and moderate ashy spice that quickly fades to kiwi, passion fruit and orange sports drink that transition to pickled ginger, fresh opened bandages and a tongue depressor with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with lemon lime Popsicle, smoldering campfire, a salty ocean breeze and light oak. Overall, this is an easy sipping fruity whisky that brings a very gentle peat smoke that is well-balanced, but is a bit youthful and thin. For a young whisky, this shows a lot of promise for their stock as they age and I’d very much like to taste their expressions at a higher proof with an older age statement. Side by side with another young Islay of Ardbeg Wee Beastie, the Wee Beastie has a creamier mouthfeel and the Kilchoman seems more like a peated version of lemon lime Gatorade. At around $67 for the Kilchoman and $47 for the Wee Beastie, I’d rather bring home the Beastie, but if someone wanted a gentler peat smoke, the Kilchoman would probably be the better option.