Follow Us:

Blog

History In A Bottle Day 14: Kilchoman 2007 KWM 25th Anniversary 10 Year Old

Posted on December 15, 2022

This post is Bonus Content. It has information on one of the KWM Cask bottles that are featured on the back of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar box. You can find the blog post for the mini bottle for Day Fourteen of our Whisky Calendar here.

by Andrew

I remember when Anthony Wills offered us this cask, I was in Scotland making my rounds and had popped in to see him at Kilchoman. We’d already bottled 5 prior Kilchomans casks, and knowing we had a big Anniversary coming, our 25th at the time, he offered us a 10 year. At the time, this was by some ways the oldest Kilchoman to come to Canada. One of my staff noted that we had beaten a number of large whisky retailers in the UK on this milestone, which definitely puffed our chest out a little.

I’ve been a fan of Kilchoman since before they legally had whisky. It’s been cool to watch the spirit mature from newmake to 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14 years and even older. The distillery is one of the oldest in the diaspora of Jim Swan distilleries, with long fermentations and slow distillations. They have also always well understood the importance of good wood. We have bottled 11 Kilchomans casks to date, and there is a good chance we’ll see another in the year ahead; if Mr. Wills can see fit to part with a 12th!

Kilchoman 2007 KWM 25th Anniversary 10 Year Old

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: creamy, decadent and briny with a whiff of smoke from the coals of a smouldering beach fire; classic Kilchoman fresh lemon, goat cheese and Old English Butterscotch; smoked mussels and pan-seared scallops. 

Palate: big, sweet, oily and malty; sweet vanilla and butterscotch morph into tendrils of vanilla, chewy malt and tarry-medicinal-peat; more lemon and goat cheese, firm toasted oak, fennel and Dutch licorice; underneath it all a thick layer of ripe orchard fruits. 

Finish: bold, long and rich yet smooth and so so salty: more Dutch licorice, juicy malt and tarry peat; the smouldering beach fire returns with some sweet vanilla, lemon and orchard fruit. 

Comment: we are honoured that Anthony Wills was willing to share one of these precious early vintage Kilchomans will us; bottled just days past its 10th birthday! 

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: Like you decided to hang a bunch of Bounce (TM) dryer sheets from the rafters of your barn, just to freshen the air and get rid of those still lingering notes of hay, leather, and horse hair. When that didn't entirely work so instead of cleaning it all up you set the whole thing on fire. Smoke, peat and dryer sheets. Barbecued prawns, hay, new leather, lime zest, elderflowers honeydew melon and coffee/cappuccino notes.

Palate: Sweet with salt and lemon, Fisherman's Friend lozenges, oatcakes with honey, baked apples, mocha mousse, dark chocolate and light roast coffee.

Finish: Smokey and earthy with more honeydew as well as toasted almonds. Becomes creamy on the finish.

Comment: A big and bold Kilchoman with lots of complexity. It is great to see the distillery's whisky hit the decade-old milestone

Andrew Ferguson

Owner

Kensington Wine Market

This entry was posted in Whisky, KWM Whisky Calendar 2022, KWM Single Cask

 

 

Recent Posts
Archives

Categories