This is a Kilchoman release featuring 5 years of full maturation in a Portugese Douro wine cask. It was distilled in 2012 and bottled in 2017, and was bottled at 50% ABV with no coloring or filtering.
This is a higher proof than the usual Kilchoman release, but that extra heat works well here. It's a spicy Islay, definitely of the sort one might end the night with.
The palate offers smoky red wine notes, with ashy peat, spices, and tingling black pepper becoming more apparent. Sweet cherry fruitiness lingers in the relatively long finish with prickly spices.
The finish is sweet and sultry, with hints of red pepper jelly and echoes of dark chocolate. All told, it’s probably my favorite release of Kilchoman to date. An absolute must “buy it now.”
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House Review
Nose:
Ash, charcoal, honey and stewed fruits. Really ashy and peaty, strong notes of burning wood and minerality. The jammy fruits are there but subdued behind the peat slap. Light coconut notes.
Taste:
Thick and rich. Apples, pears, currants, light blueberry. Then the peat rampages in again. Really potent ash, burning rubber, faint brine and minerality. Faint oak structure. Overall, a nice blend of jammy fruits and ashy goodness.
Finish:
Short to medium in length. More peat than sweet, but some nice vanilla and red apple are here with blackberry to see it off.
Overall:
Really enjoyable, with a good bit of complexity. I like the blend of peat and fruit, and this does pretty well balancing the two.
Score:
85
By t8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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