Kilchoman on Taste; New Bottlings; Blend Musings; Islay Distillery Build Stops

Hello everyone

A few things to muse over this time but, first of all, the sample of Kilchoman arrived and here are my notes on the Kilchoman 100% Islay 14th Edition:

Appearance: Soft barley gold, pale brass highlights. Tears slow, sticky and fairly close together.

Nose: Softly smoky and peaty but with a fresh, salty sea air. Some gentle roasted banana and slightly treacly toffee; vanilla and apple. Dying bonfire embers. A slight floral note too plus milk chocolate and lime. Some youthful notes. Sweaty wool sock and tannins – like stewed tea.

With water, more apple and floral at first. Roasted barley and the smoke returns more gently. A bit flatter and less vibrant then fruit and vanilla return.

Palate: Medium mouth weight and slightly oily. Salty and smoky with roasted barley. Some soft fruit; smoked ham, tannic, dry. Spicy heat – savoury not sweet and a touch of gingered pineapple [I have a great recipe for that, grilled with brown sugar].

Finish: Long, smoky, salty and dry. Inhaled bonfire embers in the throat.

It is a tasty dram and I found myself wondering what I‘d pair it with food-wise as I did find it a more salty expression than most other Kilchomans I‘ve tried. One to ponder for my final Feis Ile dinner next year, maybe. This one is available now at 50% abv, a 9:1 mix of bourbon and sherry casks respectively and priced at around £80 – £84 in the UK, though The Spirits Embassy in Huntly seem to be offering it at £73.80. News which just came in today is of another new Kilchoman expression – Port Cask Matured. Sample requested and answer awaited.

I suppose the hot news from last week is that Edrington are selling The Famous Grouse brand to Wm. Grant & Sons, subject to regulatory approval, along with their Naked Malt brand too. Edrington will be concentrating on the malts in their portfolio – The Macallan, Highland Park and The Glenrothes – as well as other spirits. Not sure how I feel about this one, not in the sense of whether they should have sold it at all but what message it might send to consumers. Grouse is a good blend, renowned globally and it will be an excellent addition to the Wm. Grant stable allowing them much greater market penetration and clout in certain areas. Indeed, Edrington did have the excellent Kirsteen Campbell working on it at one time. However, there‘s already too much malt snobbery around and I wondered if this would lead some consumers to feel that blends really are the poorer relation though we here all know that they aren‘t. I guess the other way of looking at it is that Wm. Grant have taken the opportunity to acquire a renowned blend to boost their portfolio and income even further as it‘s a blend well worth having. I‘m not pronouncing either way here – just putting it out there to show my dilemma and ask what others think. On the Edrington front, I have a concern that I‘m sure I‘ve expressed before that The Macallan is becoming more about lifestyle associations and less about whisky. There‘s another sherry-biased single malt that I worry could be going the same way.

Other news in my inbox today is that work has stopped on the Portintruan Distillery on Islay. That‘s the one being set up by Elixir Distillers, founded by former owner of The Whisky Exchange, Sukhinder Singh. Sadly, the company building the distillery has gone bust and they were unable to find a buyer for it. I really feel for Elixir being so near and yet so far. They‘re looking for someone else to finish the work and I do hope that happens soon. Elixir have their own people on the island who can carry on with certain aspects meantime but that‘s not work that can finish the distillery build. Fingers crossed for them.

I said last time that I was expecting some samples from Ferg & Harris. I still am. It transpires that there was a bottling delay and it might take another week or two for these to be available. Crossing my fingers on that score too. However, I am promised a sample of the latest Dun Cana expression from Isle of Raasay Distillers and hope to feature that next time.

It‘s definitely getting near Christmas. During September there‘s been a rush of new bottlings launched, some at affordable prices and others definitely not, depending on your earnings and the state of your bank balance. I don‘t have time or space to give them all an individual write-up but we have:

Dun Cana Sherry Quarter Cask from Isle of Raasay as mentioned above. More next time.

Dalmore Portfolio Series – three whiskies for Travel Retail and ranging in price from £500 -£1,000. These are the result of a partnership with the Dundee branch of the V&A Museum and which celebrates young Scottish artists.

The Cask Reflections Collection from Littlemillhas launched Release No.1 with whisky from casks saved after the distillery caught fire in 2004. They are managed by the Loch Lomond Group. This first one is 33 years old and had been matured in refill bourbon casks with a 4 month finishing period in Japanese mizunara oak. Price is £3,800 per bottle with only 570 bottles available. Deep pockets needed here.

The Glenlivet Eternal Collection – first ever release is a 55 year old and the oldest Glenlivet bottled to date. The collection will feature their oldest and rarest whiskies with one releaseed annually. Price for ths one is around £45,000. There are only 100 available each one nestling in a sculpture by Michael Hansmeyer. Even deeper pockets required.

Laphroaig Strong Characters – the first release of a new series celebrating „pioneering“ characters from the distillery‘s history. This first one is for Donald Johnston, one of the two brothers who founded Laphroaig in 1815. It‘s 33 years old too and has been matured in former US oak barrels and European oak former sherry hogsheads. Obviously a limited edition, price is around £960.

The Mortlach L’Evolution Collection – the first release under the aegis of Creative Director, renowned designer Philippe Starck. I still don‘t know why a whisky needs an external creative designer but I do love a Mortlach. There are three whiskies here: Begin, Become and Beyond. Prices sent to me are in US$ though there is no mention that the US is the only market for these. The release says „selected markets“. Become is sold on its own at $365. The other two are sold as a pair at $10,000. As exchange rates vary daily I haven‘t converted them to sterling equivalents.

Diageo‘s Special Releases 2024 pics were also released recently and the distilleries covered this year are Benrinnes, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Mortlach, Oban, Roseisle, Singleton and Talisker.

Glen Scotia Icons of Campbeltown – this is the second expression in this collection which is a five part limited edition annual series „that has been inspired by etchings found on the town’s famous Market Cross… The 14th-century cross is awash with stone carvings, created by unknown

hands, including saints, beasts, heroes and their foes, all of which are said to capture tales of Campbeltown’s past…Amongst the etchings is a visualisation of Saint Michael – the Archangel associated with courage and protection – who, backed by an army of supporters, heroically slayed a fire-breathing dragon with his spear“. This bottling is medium-peated and offered at 14 yers old, initially in US oak then with a 6 month finishing period in Barolo casks. Strength is 56.8% abv and priced at around £98. Now that‘s more like something ordinary mortals can manage. Packaging- wise, „Glen Scotia has collaborated with illustrator, Joel Holtzman, the master behind several characters for LucasFilm, Marvel and Disney“.

There are others but I‘m stopping there for now. Those should give you plenty to think about/admire/drool over.

Till mid-October, happy dramming.

Caroline