The 2020 Kilchoman Small Batch Release is a vatting of Bourbon & Oloroso Sherry matured Kilchoman at 47.4% with one specially selected Pedro Ximenez Sherry Hogshead at natural cask strength.

Expect to find the classic Kilchoman citrus and peat smoke with added layers of treacle, toffee & cooked fruits.

This is batch 2 of the Small Batch Releases with 1,260 bottles produced.  

The yearly Diageo Special Releases always pack some surprises and it's fair to say an unpeated Caol Ila is probably one of them. This single malt Scotch promotes the distillery's lesser-known side as a sherry-forward Caol Ila that swaps smoke for elegant sweetness. It was matured for 15 years in refill and rejuvenated American-oak hogsheads and ex-bodega European oak butts before it was bottled at a cask strength 59.1% ABV.

Nose: Opens with marmalade-laden buttery toast, milk chocolate and fresh orange notes, before red cherry, strawberry and raisin comes through. Lashes of vanilla and a suggestion of spearmint, too.

Palate: Leads with more of that creamy chocolate, fruity yoghurt and honey. Peach is in there too, and in with all the oiliness is a pine-like quality.

Finish: Yoghurt-covered almonds with some liquorice and, yes, some distant smoke.

Overall: It's an viscous drop that packs a creamy-fruity punch.

Kilchoman Fino Cask 2020 Bottling Note

An intriguing bottling here from Kilchoman, which has been matured fully in Fino sherry casks! The casks for this expression were used previously by Bodega Miguel Martin in Spain, including 11 fresh sherry butts and just the one refill butt. Combining the savoury notes of peaty whisky with the salinity of Fino, this ought to be great for someone looking to try something a little bit different.

Nose: Toasted nuts, peat smoke and a hint of sea salt, while sweeter notes of honey and banana bring some balance.

Palate: Dark chocolate, another touch of flaky sea salt, a burst of fresh citrus and some earthy, vegetal peat.

Finish: Green olive, salted butter and smoke.

Where land meets Sea

This intriguing, gentle but definitively Islay whisky was created by the skilful blending of Single Malt Whisky that was been matured in a selection of Bourbon barrels, Toasted American Oak barrels, Sherry butts, refill Hogsheads and American Oak casks.

TASTING NOTES

Charcoal smoke, lemon oil and pine contrast with a rich palate of heather honey, grilled grapefruit, and sweet ginger snaps. Dark chocolate soften into melon and prosciutto with a warmth of chilli spice.

NON CHILL?FILTERED | NO ADDED COLOURING

This 15-year-old single malt, spends its final three years in oloroso sherry casks (prior to 12 in bourbon) and is elegantly balanced between the sherry influence and the distillery's fruit and peat characteristics. Breathe in delicious dark chocolate, sun-dried fruits and a tell-tale wisp of Islay smoke. On the palate sip wonderful cedar wood and a rich treacle toffee and savour the robust and complex finish with a hint of sherry tannin.

SAMAROLI ISLAY
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
BOTTLED IN SCOTLAND IN 2023

Our eye - or better our nose - dwells on this youngster, allowing us to bottle yet another iteration of our philosophy of Islay, the queen of Scotland. We stand before a young, arrogant and daring Caol Ila. Despite its youth, the mastery conferred by wood presents us with a slightly peaty note. In addition, we sense shy hints of yeast, butter and smoked meats reminiscent of our hearth after last night?s fire is spent. And now almond, hazelnut and candied fruit. 

The saline plane surprises us in terms of equilibrium and harmony. Suggestions of herring and anchovy, a classic marina scent with flashes of the mineral. Those caper bushes descending towards the Sicilian sea are now evoked. To the right the Pillars of Heracles. To the left, the mysterious and intriguing East. There is a narrow border between the ocean and the sky which is lighter and therefore easy to identify. Some may say that Brittany is where we can best learn to distinguish this.

A.W.B. 

COMPOSITION: 3 casks of Caol Ila 2013 - Hogshead - Refill Bourbon
BOTTLES PRODUCED: 1104
ABV: 45%

Single cask Islay whisky bottled to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Belgian independent bottler the Nectar. After initial maturation in American oak, this distinctive single malt was filled into dessert wine casks from Monbazillac. A great combination of sweet wine cask influence and coastal peatiness.

52.7% ABV

The Finlaggan range features single malt Scotch whisky from an undisclosed Islay distillery, bottled by the Vintage Malt Whisky Company. The range has seen a few expansions in recent years - this early 2016 release has enjoyed a finishing period in port casks, resulting in yummy, wine-like sweetness blending with the smoky, coastal peat.

The newest, oldest whisky to join the core range. This supreme expression proves unequivocally that age cannot tame Ardbeg's smoky power. But it can yield some of the most complex and majestic flavours ever to burst forth from Ardbeg Distillery.

Bottled from incredibly rare casks filled during some of the Distillery's darkest days, this is Ardbeg at its most intricate, balanced and beguiling.

Majestic aromas of smoked cream and earthy bonfires are masterfully interwoven with layers of pine and fragrant candle wax. Hot pepper rises on the palate, twisting around lemon sherbet sweetness, while hints of carbolic soap and tar flow into a long aftertaste characterised by delicate aniseed entwined with lingering cream and fudge.

Non chill-filtered with a strength of 46%

A wonderfully balanced expression from the core Caol Ila range, this 18 year old is malty and thick with notes of Caol Ila smoke and phenols, a lovely Islay single malt without extreme levels of peat.

Nose: Aromatic, darkness. Herbal, vegetal. Grassy, creamy malt.

Palate: Big, refined sweetness, leafy. Well integrated oak, smoke, oily, peat. Barley.

Finish: Long, herbal notes, gentle smoke, soft peat. Oily wood.

Named after the most spectacular beach on Islay, Machir Bay is the flagship of the Kilchoman range. Machir Bay is a unique and complex combination of ex-bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry butts. There is a predominantly ex-bourbon influence on this release which is indicated in the cask influence graph on the front of the carton.

source- Kilchoman

Bowmore Legend is matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, enhancing the fruitiness, mellow peat, maritime saltiness and honey of Bowmore, while adding an extra layer of deliciously sweet vanilla and gentle spice. A fine introduction to this legendary Islay distillery.

Sweet vanilla and dry cured meat aromas.  Peat smoke undertones are complemented by banana and apricot.

Ripe Banana, kiwi and vibrant hints of fresh citrus, leading to a long, sweet and smoky finish.

Like all Octomore .3 editions, the 13.3 is distilled from 100% Islay barley. The barley is grown  on Octomore farm, around two miles south of Bruichladdich Distillery. The name for the  Octomore range originated from this farm, and the .3?s are generally matured in a mixture of  ex-American and ex-European oak casks. 

Octomore 13.3 is matured in a combination of exAmerican whiskey and second fill ex-French oak casks. 13.3 distillery notes: Distilled in 2016 from the 2015 harvest of 100% Octomore Farm, Islay grown, Concerto barley Malted to 129.3 PPM Matured in a combination of first fill ex-American whiskey and second fill ex-French oak casks Matured entirely on Islay for five years Bottled at 61.1% Bottled unchill-filtered and colouring free at Bruichladdich Distillery Key tasting notes: vanilla and brown sugar counterbalanced with fresh green fruit notes.  Gentle and dry smoke building to a long finish with hints of creosote and sea spray

The flavour of Islay untamed

No more than 60 casks will make up each batch. Each cask is selected for the notes it will bring to the whisky. Each batch will have a unique code and shows the cask breakdown which enables the recipient, each year, to contrast, compare and explore the different notes that the wood and blending brings to this Islay Scotch Whisky. #01-2023 uses the cask selection to create layers of sweetness, zest intertwined with the classic smoke of Islay.

TASTING NOTES

Bursts of zesty citrus and black pepper, evolving to toasted bread, marmalade, and smoke. On the palate, it’s fresh with salt, lime, and spices, while the finish lingers with spice, smoke, and toffee-like richness.

NON CHILL–FILTERED | NO ADDED COLOURING