Kilchoman PX Sherry Cask Matured (2021 Edition)

N: Campfire smoke and blackberry jam. Buttered toast with more jammy berries. Iodine, dash of sea spray, and strawberry jam. Lots of jam here, apparently. Bit of citrus, vanilla, and a dry red wine. Peat character eventually lightens from smoke to just a charcoal kissed dried lavender bush. P: Vanilla, cherries, citrus, and rich earthy, heathery peat with a decidedly Highland Park twang to it. Slightly sour with an oily, heavy mouthfeel. Spiced caramel apple cider. Heat starts to build about halfway through a pour - it reminds a bit of a bourbon barrel type of heat, but definitely moves to the finish with some vegetable and chili pepper bite. Finish also has lingering caramel, lemon citrus, a little of the campfire smoke and jam from the nose, and a nice smoked vanilla. This is just a lovely Islay single malt. Great balance of peat, smoke, little bit of malt character, and then the jammy, berry notes from the PX casks. Can't think of anything bad to say about this dram. It's a bit pricey, but it doesn't feel out of line for basically an Islay craft whisky on a limited run (only 12,000 bottles). I would do it again. _______ Please come join a bunch of regular Distiller reviewers are chatting spirits in real time on Discord: https://discord.gg/4nfePCdyKM. (If the link is expired, post a comment and I will post a new one.)

Grassy smoke, Cherry, orchard fruit

Light peat on the nose, very rich tobacco and dark chocolate. Palate is rich with the same tobacco notes, sweet dried fruits from the sherry with a very moderate peat level which I enjoyed. Finish is not very long but this whisky is refined and feels old even though it shows no age statement. Easy buy at $100

Another winner from the Isaly. The peat smoke with honey butterscotch, berries, lemon and some walnut. A well balanced dram with a medium body. Not my favorite Islay but it sure has a complexity and I’d like to explore it with more than one dram in the future.