Jan-Case
Kilchoman The Netherlands Small Batch No. 1
Single Malt — Islay, Scotland
Reviewed
April 26, 2020 (edited June 14, 2020)
Nose: a delicious mild but present peat with fresh and savory citrus note along with other mixed fruits. The nose doesn’t have much variety but it is really enjoyable with what it has to offer. Simple, approachable, delicate, fruity and sweet. Really great.
Palate: not what I expected with that charming nose. It is really harsh and dry. Next to the smokey peat there isn’t much from the fruitiness left. I get a interesting pine needle taste (obviously in a combination with the nose) and it is kinda sweet. The finish is long and pleasant again and presents itself with ripe peaches.
The nose is really nice and with water release some vanilla as well. I would rate the nose 3,75. The palate though isn’t very great. The peat and smokiness is nice but that’s about it what is noticeably interesting to me. Not bad - just not great. That would be a 2,0.
That leaves me with a 2,75. While I wouldn‘t buy a whole bottle of this I would gladly taste other Kilchoman expressions. I think it can be nice with some more years in nice finishing-casks. Anyone any recommendations from this distillery?
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@Jan-Case i loved their wine finish one, as well as the Sauternes. Their Loch Gorm has been my favorite out of the core lineup
@PBMichiganWolverine yeah. This was my first Kilchoman ever and thank god I tried other ones afterwards. Now I am a big fan of the Loch Gorm and Sanaig. Strange how different they can be.
I just had a sample of this over the weekend...wasn’t impressed either
I'm a big fan of Kilchoman, and I had the UK Small Batch, which I liked a lot. The notes I got from it were a bit different from yours, but it's hard to know how much variation there is between the various batches. I also have an unopened US Small Batch, so maybe that will provide some answers. I like the Machir Bay quite a lot, and the one Loch Gorm I've had (the 2018) I liked very much (it received a lousy review here on Distiller, but my experience was completely different). I've also tried the 100% Islay, and I'll probably get a bottle of it when I have a chance. It's a bit lighter on the peat, but lovely.
The Machir Bay and Sanaig are nice entry level drams from the distillery. The recent 2019 Loch Gorm was very nice (the 2018 I heard not so good). Some of their special release stuff in the past was stunning Red Wine Cask Finish (if you like full on casking finish influence). The 2018 Sauternes also very nice. Re. the Sanaig and the Machir Bay you can get a combo 200ml x 2 gift pack at a reasonable price.