Kilchoman (KILL-HOE-minh)
Region: Islay, Scotland
Style: Single Malt Peated Whisky

About Kilchoman (KILL-HO-minh) Machir (MACK-er) Bay; 43% ABV :

I work at a liquor store and sometimes I cringe inside when someone scoffs and says, "I don't drink anything younger than an 18 Year!" My initial reaction is, "Let me grab you by the collar and beat you to Sh#t." Yes, it's quite a pedestrian reaction, but I quietly refrain, realizing that this MAY be a condescending reaction on my part, and smile with a solemn response, "Ah...okay...that's pretty cool." So, what I'm trying to say is....yes, this baby is young...it's a 3 year old, but don't let the age statement fool you.

This scotch consists of 60% 3-year-old, 35% 4-year-old, and 5% 5 year old spirits. Now, before you roll your eyes and think, "I'll never fraaacking drink a whisky that young," this whisky is completely fantastic! I think part of the reason why this company is able to release their products at a young age is because they're using "wet barrels" to age the spirit. What does that mean? Well, there are lots of scotches that are aged in ex-bourbon casks. In fact, I think 90% of scotches are aged in ex-bourbon casks. Typically, lots of distilleries in Scotland will purchase their barrels from bourbon distilleries. In order to ship these casks from the US to Scotland, they break down the barrels first and then they ship the staves overseas to Scotland. Most companies do this because it's much more economic and cost-effective to ship staves than shipping a whole cask overseas. After these staves arrive on the distillery's site, they are reassembled on the distillery's site. In Kilchoman's case, the Kilchoman Team has chosen to purchase Buffalo Trace barrels and ship these barrels whole over seas. As a result, the ex-bourbon barrels that have NOT been broken down are able to retain their bourbon-like characteristics. In a tasting event that Anthony Wills held last year at Seven Grand, he indicated that he carefully chooses his casks, making sure they're great quality casks, so he can release them at a young age.

This distillery opened in 2005, and it took over 20 investors and $40 million dollars to be build the distillery from scratch. So, yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and give the proprietor, Anthony Wills, lots of kudos for doing this. I think it takes a tremendous amount of cajones and passion to open a distillery during this time period, especially since we're still in a recession. The distillery also grows its own barley (they have a farm on the distillery). However, the distillery is rather small, so they still source their barley from Port Ellen as well. Although Kilchoman is known to age its whiskies in Buffalo Trace barrels and sherry casks from Martin, this particular one spends its whole life in bourbon barrels.

Nose (Neat): Robust brininess on the forefront with an underlying hint of rose petals. When I pull the glass forward towards my nose, the salty smoke becomes more apparent and when I pull the glass away from me the aroma softens, giving me notes of sweet bread. When I lean my left nostril into the glass, I get milk chocolate! MM! How lovely!! My right nostril, on the other hand, picks up alcohol (oh! the burning) and smoke.

Flavour (Neat): There's some spice here and it tastes creamy, too. There are undertones of sweetness here that holds the smoke and char together. Towards the end, the sugar tones move away and the char comes forward. The orange zests tingles the sides of my tongue, while the aroma of smoke hits my nasal cavity quickly.

Finish (Neat): Coffee. The smoke rides here for a few minutes, but agave syrup kicks in. Burnt sugar emerges 5 minutes later. 15 minutes later, dark chocolate and oak comes out. Damn, this whisky has long finish, but I'm not complaining! ;D 20 minutes in, toasted coffee beans! Holy crap! The finish is still rolling in!!! It's kicking ass here!

Nose with 2 Drops of Water: Saltiness of the whisky comes out and there's a secondary hint of feet. When I pull the glass away from my nose, the scent of coconut emerges. When I pull the glass forward, it has the aroma of toasted grains. Citrus qualities kick in when I lean into my left nostril! Woah! That made me slightly dizzy! Holy crap! When I lean into my right nostril, I get more of a mesquite wood note.

Flavour with 2 Drops of Water: Wow! With two drops of water, it appears that the flavor gets more amped up and robust. It becomes richer and sweeter in the sense that I pick up burnt sugar, the kind you see at the base of a flan. MMM. It's rich and hearty! I actually prefer it with 2 drops of water. The char is still there, so don't you worry about losing that smoke! :D It gets spicy with water, too. It tingles the sides of my tongue and I get a dose of grapefruit on the sides of my tongue.

Finish (Neat): It has a bitter ending, while the char and smoke stay steady. When I hum and exhale, I get a hint of mocha, specifically from an eclair. There's an overtone of orange zests 5 minutes after the finish line.

Burp: Pears!

Overall: This is an absolutely stunning whisky, the tour de force of Islay scotches. I appreciate it a lot because I think this company is a little bit of an underdog. I also think that this is a great whisky for those who are intimidated by stuff from Islay. Usually, when I hear people complain about peated-style whiskies they say, "UGH! It's too medicinal and it tastes like band aids!" However, just like other types of whiskies, there's a bunch of different types of peated-style whiskies. Different types of peat occur due to the type of vegetation that is found in the peat. For example, at Highland Park, lots of their peat is composed of heather, and heather has the tendency to be floral and sweet. So, Highland Park expressions will be influenced by the heather. On that note, back to Kilchoman, because the sweetness balances out the smoke, I think this is a great whisky for people who are on the fence about smokey styles or who are kind of intimidated to dunk their heads straight into the peated-smokey style whiskies like the Ardbegs and Lagavulins. Now, I LOVE my super smoky whiskies from Ardbeg and Lagavulin. You name any stuff from Islay, I'm 100% in!!! This particular one is a great introduction to those who are new to this region because the smoke and sweetness compliment each other. I hope you will enjoy the Machir Bay as much as I do! ^_^ It's a drink that makes me smile because I get to share it with my friends and I see their eyes light up. One person said, "I'm surprised I like this! Usually I hate peated whiskies! I never thought I'd like something like this, but I do and I want my own bottle." It feels good when I see their expressions...it kind of reminds me of the time when I gave a Christmas present to my nephews. At first, I thought they wouldn't care. I figured after 2 days, they'd destroy the toys and light them on fire, but I saw the boys' eyes lit up and they said, "WOOOAH! Thank you, auntie!" and it made me happy. I thought, "Oh! This is why people give gifts to little kiddies." Machir Bay makes my heart sing and it brings a smile to my face! ^_^ I really, really hope you like it!!!


Where to Buy it:
Hi-Time Wine Cellars; $52.99
The Whisky Place; $54.99
K n L; $53.99
Everson Royce; $55.00
Total Wine and More: $53.99
BevMo: $54.99 (If you're a member then it's $49.99) What a deal!