I was searching through the forest of samples that have piled up over the last 8-10 months and found this extra from our SDT’s fifth round: Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured. This one was supplied by our newest member, @Telex. I’ve been a big fan of Kilchoman since their stuff has started hitting the shelves, so let’s see how this one stacks up... It’s a beautiful, shiny copper in the Glencairn and doesn’t really make many legs when you spin it up. It appears really oily even though it’s on the heavy ABV side at a nice, round 50%. The nose starts out smoky, rich and salty like the early stages of a slab of your favorite meat in a smoker. There’s a welcoming blast of red berries and brown sugar before fading and revealing light, charred oak. The palate is hot and salty, BBQ smoke with some rich chocolate sweetness. I don’t get the wine aspect as well here, and I’m thinking it’s because of the high ABV and salt. It’s still mouth watering and delicious- it’s just the wine flavors I were expecting couldn’t fight their way through. Slightly disappointing, but I won’t ding it just yet. The finish is spicy and peppery. It’s long and eventually drying, but at the very tail end I get some residual grape and blackberry jam stickiness that just lingers on and on. It’s the redemption from the wine cask fail on the palate and it works so well here. The heat starts to fade and, as if on cue, the berry sweetness is left hanging there. It may the best finish of any Kilchoman I’ve had. Wonderful. Overall, this is another great Kilchoman. When these guys get some serious age statement bottles out there the other guys on Islay better watch out. Quality, quality juice. Thanks again to Jason for the pour and this is a solid 4-4.25 star dram. Seek it out and see for yourself, my friends. Cheers.