Kilchoman Port Cask Matured (2018 Edition)

super whisky. hutně kouřová, nasládlá. kdyby se dala koupit, hned objednávám

Sweet and smokey

Cold ash, long finish, moreish

Some smoke. Some peat.

You always remember your first. The first girl you dated. The first car you bought. Your first paycheck from your first real job. Your first A+ ( well, in my case, I always got A+, but I remember my first and only D ). So, this is my first 3 star on Kilchoman. I was actually really excited to try this; was hoping for that peat-port magic to bring out the smoky embers and fruity flavors. Just seems like it’s not well integrated. I’m really not getting the base Kilchoman taste, nor am I getting that peat-port magic. It’s a bit of a mess. I can’t believe mess and Kilchoman are in the same sentence, but yeah...my first Kilchoman I truly disliked. On a side note...the only 4 or 5 star distilleries for me , across all their product lines that I’ve tried, seem now to be Springbank, Yamazaki, Lagavulin, Talisker and Ardbeg. Kilchoman just fell today.

I'm copying this note over from the other page because the release that I tried was this 2018 edition. Feis Ile 2018 - Kilchoman update no. 5. I grabbed a sample of this from the distillery shop and was excited to try it out. In fact, it was the one I was most excited to taste. Unfortunately, a bit of a letdown here. The port finish doesn't add what I would have expected to Kilchoman's base spirit. The nose remains dry and earthy, with little sweetness: mushrooms, rice, odd savory notes abound. The palate is sweet, but the port leans toward adding medicinal sweet flavors, akin to Laphroaig. Again, unexpected. The finish features a burgeoning sweetness that combines with cinnamon spice and barley. The port tamped down the smoke in this release but really added some wild card flavors rather than the dark, rich fruits I anticipated. It's a strange dram, not unpleasant, but too surprising in odd ways to love while drinking. In comparison, the distillery exclusive PX cask showcased the crackling synergy possible with sweet and peat flavors. I'm even more disappointed because I tried the 2014 edition of this last year, and it was a solid 4-star dram. The nose was a dead ringer for Lagavulin 16 underneath an initial, heavy layer of ethanol, with cinammon, stone fruit, creek brulee, and rich smoke. The first sips were very salty, a little too much so, but then grew into the same smoke and stone fruit combination. The 2014 Port had a mild finish given the proof, with a little astringency, charred hickory, and guava.

To say I was excited to get my hands on the newest Kilchoman: Port Cask Matured was an understatement. I had visions of the Laphraoig 2013 Cairdeas and BenRiach Solstice (both 4.5-5 star drams) dancing in my head. Every Kilchoman I’ve tried to date has been great to fantastic. I’ve been extolling how the whisky world will be a better place once these guys get some 12-15 year juice to market, blah blah blah. Well... The 2018 version of the Port Cask, the second edition I believe, is not a very good malt. I’ve drank craft beer for well over a decade and I have grown to love sour beers. When a brewery accidentally bottles a sour that hasn’t finished fermenting it develops diacetyl acid and ruins the flavor of the beer. It leaves behind a fake, popcorn butter flavor that overpowers everything else. I get this flavor in this new batch of Kilchoman Port Cask. It’s so buttery it actually masks most of the traditional, Kilchoman smoke (which is one of the best on Islay IMO). I get some wine sweetness on the very backend of the palate, but it’s all laced with that butter and rich toffee flavor and is almost undrinkable. I finished the bottle but it was mostly done chasing it with better whisky, as to wash the flavor away. This is bottled at 50% ABV and cost me just under $90 to get a bottle shipped in from the UK. I believe it’s headed to North America by the end of summer, but I recommend you leave it sitting on the shelf. It’s just not good. It hasn’t ruined future Kilchoman for me, I hope it’s just a blemish on their excellent track record so far. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere- buy a Loch Gorm or Machir Bay instead. 2 stars. Cheers.