Kilchoman 13 YO on Taste; Johnnie Walker Vault; Ardbeg Eureka

Hello everyone

I mentioned Kilchoman 13 Year Old 2025 last time and hadn‘t had time to try the sample they kindly sent. Well, done so now. This one was matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels, octaves and Calvados casks though the release doesn‘t say how long in each one. By that I mean did some of the whisky sit in each type for the full 13 years before vatting together or did some of it spend a shorter bit of time in the octaves and Calvados wood? A question I will ask.

Appearance: Bright barley straw gold with pale brass and light tawny highlights. Tears very slow and very sticky.

Nose: Fresh, sea salt air; deftly woven peat smoke; spices incl. Ginger and clove; apple skins; some barley sugar sweetness; touch of caramel/toffee; soft mellow oak and earthiness; a few vegetal notes appear briefly; some soft candy sweetness. Quite a soft nose despite the peat. With water, some damp wool sock; a touch more apple; more vanilla. More fruitiness as it sits in the glass and rich, mellow oak and gentle cake spices.

Palate: Slightly mouth coating; smoky; peaty more in the mouth than on the nose; tingling black pepper; oak char; baked fruit; oak tannins and apple brandy (hardly surprising).

Finish: Long but with an airy lightness; peppery spice; smoke; salt; licorice and fruit. Some herbal dryness. Smoke and richly roasted barley linger.

Their notes say pineapple and lemon sherbet on the nose but I didn‘t get that. Each nose to its own! It‘s a tasty dram and not expensive at £85 – £90 for a limited edition at 50% vol.

A recent announcement from Johnnie Walker for those with big bank accounts. It‘s the Johnnie Walker Vault and is led by JW Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker in a „creative atelier“ below JW Princes Street in Edinburgh. The Vault consists of some 500 of their rarest whiskies, chosen by Emma Walker.

We‘re told, “Emma and her team have access to over 10 million casks from over 30 distilleries, approximately half of the total number of casks currently resting in Scotland. These casks include aged stock of over 50 years, ‘ghost’ stocks from Port Ellen and Brora, appointment-only, luxury distilleries, and icons of the whisky world which have been meticulously re-envisioned and restored to their former glory…Johnnie Walker Vault is the doorway to this library of rare and exceptional whiskies through which Dr. Emma Walker can create visionary, bespoke blends for private clients or commercially available storied blends for cultural collaborators…   

Luxurious Experiences   
Johnnie Walker Vault launches its exclusive private blending offering, inviting a select few people each year to a made-to-measure experience in Edinburgh, Scotland. Starting from £50,000 and centered around a one-on-one private blending experience with Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker in the Johnnie Walker Vault, packages can include:  

• Private, VIP travel 
• A glamorous stay at the glorious Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire 
• A private tour of the invite-only Diageo Archive  
• Michelin Star dining throughout with locally curated menus  
• Unique Scottish pursuits and experiences   
• Private Blend presented in a crystal decanter handcrafted in France by the highly skilled artisans of the Baccarat House
• Private Blend recipe chronicled in the Johnnie Walker Vault archive allowing for future commissions (depending on availability of rare stocks).“

Clearly, only for the few but potentially a great experience if you can afford it and I am wondering how they decide whom to invite. I‘m attending a trade event at JW Princes Street later this year and am hoping we‘ll be told more about this or maybe we‘ll get to see what‘s beneath the streets of Edinburgh in terms of Emma‘s creative space. Certainly the spaces from the ground up are impressive. Later in spring they‘ll be announcing a creative partnership with someone special from the couture world. More on that when the news arrives.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Ardbeg Committee. After a tasting exercise with a number of Committee members, Ardbeg Eureka (£72/ 52.2% abv / no age statement) has been created by Dr. Bill Lumsden and Master Blender Gillian Macdonald to celebrate this occasion. I did get the Committee e-mail telling me it was coming but managed to miss the one on the day sales opened and it sold out fast. Damn! This is one I would have liked to buy. It sounds so enticing. Their notes in the advance e-mail describe it thus:

„This rich and delicious dram, bottled at 52.2%, has been skilfully created by combining PX sherry casks with roasted malt spirit matured in bourbon casks. On the nose, heather bonfire and hand-rolled sweet tobacco leaves meet cedar and fennel. On the palate, salted crispy seaweed and sweet cinnamon jostle with dark chocolate-coated raisins and burning embers.“

I‘d be interested to hear from anyone reading this who managed to buy a bottle what they think. You can do that with a comment via the website.

That‘s all from me this time. Back at the end of the month. Here in the UK our clocks go forward an hour at that time. Not at all looking forward to the loss of an hour of sleep on that one night but maybe a dram toasting longer daylight will be in order.

Till then, happy dramming.

Slainte mhath,

Caroline