Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured (2017 Edition)

Feis Ile 2018 update. Another day, another dram (or four, or seven). This was another pour sampled at Islay House Hotel and ... wow. This is quite something. It reminded me instantly of Ardbeg Dark Cove, an equally complex combination of sweet, dark fruits (plums), savory meats (ham, or bacon), salt, spice, and smoke. At the end, right on the swallow, an unexpected flourish of ripe raspberries overtook my palate. This dram outshined Lagavulin’s Feis Ile 2017 bottle and SMWS Laphroaig special release for 2017, a 21-year old single cask, both of which we tried on the same night. So, yeah, Kilchoman did something right here.

Sweet, strong, fiery, salty air, slightly floral nose, a little nutty with hints of coffee & dark chocolate

Sixth sample of a 7 part Kilchoman (custom) sample set my wife got me for my birthday. Kilchoman must definitely be the distillery I’ve tasted the most expressions off by now, but so far I’ve yet to try one that failed to impress. This Red Wine Maturation again is great. One the nose, a earthy, meaty smoke is accompanied with some fruity tones. The palate is also sweet, and round, and reminds me of steak and wine. Doh. Combined with a medium aftertaste dram this Kilchoman scores a solid 4 stars for me. Being very much into all things Italy, it makes me wonder how a Kilchoman matured in Bolgherian Sassicaia wine barrels would be.

Close but not what we had at Jack Rose: bottle date 24.5.13. Distillation date 14 11 07

Machir Bay was my introduction To Kilchoman and I was shocked by the quality within the 4 year youthfulness. Since then I have been a fan. Having several samples and bottles, they have produced more quality whisky than not. Now, thanks to @Telex, I can try one more. The peat aromas are not smokey but earthen and boggy soaked in a salty-sweet maritime brine. Maraschino cherries, Challah bread vanilla’d French Toast in maple syrup, and cigar tobacco. The palate is sweet but not overly done arriving in a medium weighted body. Sweet BBQ sauce on smoked baby-back ribs with citrus zest. A fruity, raspberry jam fills the body of the palate as it draws to the finish. The finish is drying and with a touch of peat, marmalade and Concord grapes though it’s somewhat short in length. A very enjoyable dram. Easy to sit back and sip. This is perfect as a perfect after dinner cordial following a rich meal given its sweet, light nature. Kilchoman is proving themselves as quality distiller. If only the price was more approachable (but nowadays I find myself saying that about every whisk(e)y. Again, thanks @Telex for bringing this to the group. [89/100][Tasted: 3/31/18]

Mine is actually small batch Eye: light Nose: light sweet smoke Pallet: sweet smoke Finish: rich

I’m sure many of you have noticed all of the review transfers I’ve been doing over the past few weeks. This has been an effort to try and even out my totals between the two apps I use. I started out on Barreled at least a year before here. I’ve gone about as far as I can but there are some bottles that just don’t exist here yet. Anyways it was all leading up this this review, number 200 when counting on Barreled. Well ladies and germs, I have now reached the 200 review milestone. For this occasion I have chosen another bonus sample from my friends in the Scottish Distillery Tour group. The Kilchoman red wine cask matured. A NAS from the newest Islay distillery (newest with product on the shelves anyway). It is matured entirely in casks that held red wine from Portugal, but not Port wine. Port wine is fortified with brandy and this wine was not. Bottled at 50% ABV and it is non chill filtered and natural color of a dark copper. Only around 10,000 bottles were released worldwide. The nose is a little closed off at first, even after 10 minutes sitting in the glass. Nothing but a little peat and a vague sweetness. I gave it another 5 minutes and the sweet red wines notes started to emerge along with some mint and an earthiness. Light honey and florals. Thick fruity notes follow. Raspberry and blackberry jams and plums. Subtle notes of toffee and chocolate, brown sugar and some maple. Water brings out some oranges, tangerines and some light tobacco notes. A little more water brings out more florals like lavender and more mint. The palate has peat, but it’s lighter than I have come to expect from Kilchoman. A dark fruitiness behind that peat. Mixed berry jam, red grapes, a touch of oak and dark chocolate. Red wine notes with a little orange rind. Kind of like a sangria without the rum and added sugar. Water brings out more sweetness but not more flavors. A medium bodied mouthfeel, a touch watery but it’s mouth coating and turns dry. The finish is medium long with a light peat and wine notes and a distant mint. Pretty good stuff here, but honestly I was expecting a little more. I had to coax the flavors out instead of being smacked in the face with them. Perhaps if this was finished with a strong Oloroso cask it would have given it that extra oomph I was hoping for. Still this is good whisky. $110 good? Maybe. Still, not a bad choice for number 200. 4.25 and another thanks to @Telex for the sample. Cheers