Kilchoman 2011

Tasting Notes by John MacLellan - Distillery Manager; This release has been matured for over four years in Madeira casks. Colour: Rich mahogany. Nose: Strong, lemon and citrus notes. Palate: Sweet with a nutty dark chocolate character. Finish: A rich texture with peat smoke and soft mixed fruits.

Quite complex for a youngster, but very much a youngster. Really liked the cinnamon kick on the palate.

Very different, not particularly complex, but a fantastic integration of a young quality peated malt and great quality casks. Do not be fooled into thinking that because it's young - therefore it's spirity or harsh. On the nose it has a fresh fruitiness (bubblegum/ blackcurrant leaf or perhaps even strawberry conserve? with orange cinnemon/Anise and molasses in the mix too), it's sweet, peaty (with no hint of phenols unlike other Islays), and has a very unique personilty. At 50% by vol it's accessible without water. The taste, delivery and finish are seemless with the nose carrying through the taste and into a long finish. I'm tasting side by side with a Lagauvulin 2015 Distillers Edition. Yes - the Lagauvulin at 16yrs old has more complexity, but the Lagavulin is less distinctive in my opinion.  In my view, well worth the £75 (if you can find it at this price!). This 'farm' distillery really delivers a 1st class world whisky that can hold its head high alongside the long established Islay Giants. 93pts from me. My bottle was opened Feb 2016 and I'm now nearing the bottom (Dec 2016). I've got three other Kilchomans on the going and this one really stands out: -  I've enjoyed it so much I'm upping to 95pts!

A pleasant and well controlled dram. Whisky n ° 3

20 19 19 19 77 the distillery's signature style: young whisky + active barrels = excellent results. If it were possible, then I would be only happy, but this drink is only for fans, you have to love this, for me it’s a dubious story, too young and winey, there is no balance.

I wasn't sure what to expect when opening this bottle. I'd seen great reviews and not-so-good reviews. I've waited until my third pour from the bottle to write this, as what is very clear is that this isn't a 'normal' profile, and my reaction to it changed slightly each time I tried it. The nose is consistently wonderful. The trademark Kilchoman notes are there (creamy peat smoke and rich fruits), enhanced in many ways by the Madeira casks. You get sweeter fruits (reminding me of those candied orange and lemon slices my Gran used to give me as a child at Christmas!) and a touch more oak than the standard Kilchoman releases (e.g, Machir Bay). Water opened it up nicely. Very different, but also very likeable. It is the palate where my opinion changed more between tastings. There is a syrupy richness here from the Madeira casks which borders on the cloying and doesn't sit as naturally with the Kilchoman spirit as it does on the nose. The first dram I had this didn't bother me, but with the second dram (on a different night in a different frame of mind) I found it all a bit too much of a good thing. Tonight, I sit somewhere in between the two extremes! The soft peat returns at the finish, leaving a lovely lingering, smoky trace on the tongue. A difficult one to score for me, ranging somewhere between 78-88 depending on my mood. I've gone for somewhere near the midpoint between the two for an overall score. Not one to replace the excellent standard bourbon or sherry cask Kilchomans, but certainly an interesting experiment.

sample from KH via pop_noir, who didn't like it. and ack no... this cask doesn't work for me either, but the nose is decent. hard to score because the spirit is good but this madeira 1st fill does not work for my palate...

n: the madeira cask influence is a bit too heavy m:caramelised onion  sauce and  menthol herbs are added to the kilchoman character f: long but still the madeira influence has covered a bit the excellent kilchoman spirit I am happy that the core expression in the future will be based on bourbon barrels and from what I've tried so far I believe that finishes work better for kilchoman than fully wine barrel maturation.....maybe second fill will perform better than first fill when they let the spirit there for its whole life.. 88

Ranking: 1st finish, 2nd mouth, 3rd nose a young whisky to whom one can forgive his youth because she is selling well especially with its great finish In 2 or 3 years we should definitely meet again an always welcome dram

The Madeira maturation adds a quite interesting note to the distillery character. Love it, although price is a bit hefty ...

An exotic, atypical Kilchoman.

Aroma - baked sugar apples, peat compost, toasted caramel citrus and agave. Taste - milk chocolate, toasted nuts, agave fruit, maple syrup with peat. Finish - long, sweet maple-agave syrup, smoky peaty earth. Maybe a little too sweet, but still a very tasty whisky)

Beautiful Kilchoman, fully matured in Madeira cask. Colour: dark gold. Nose: smoky peat, fresh lime and ripe citrus fruit. Taste: rich and pleasantly sweet with notes of nuts, chocolate and peat smoke. In the long finish it has some more soft fruit notes. A treat for Kilchoman lovers.

A very good Kilchoman. I guess that I prefer the Port Cask Finish compared to this one but it is once again a wonder what is possible after only 4 years of maturation.

It's a bit too strong on some notes, orange liqueur among them, and on top of that it's a bit too "arranged" conceptually to be a real winner, but besides, it does work !

Works very well, Kilchoman and Madeira barrel ripening!

No wonder in terms of complexity, how should it be after four years, but very harmonious and excellently balanced. Sweet and tasty you could now add. It always impresses me what kind of mature whiskys came out of the Kilchoman house after such a short time, and how soft and mature the alcohol was after such a short maturation time.

Superb whisky. Tastes significantly more mature than its age would suggest.

+ H2O: opens the nose, becomes more differentiated, a bit bitter, something Obstler, after some time: boiled potatoes Complex! No mainstream and succeeded. 28.01.2017 88

Blog Released in 2015 as a small release, consisting of 70% bourbon, 20% sherry and 10% various wine casks. It can be a big risk involving wine casks, so it was bottled as a 4yo to avoid the risk of over doing it. Originally planned to be bottled at 55%, it was found to be too spirity - so 50% it is. N: Xmas cake, Bruichladdich ‘Sherry Classic’ vibe [remember that oddity WB?],… with brandy cream and all the wine gums. Same oily, yet dry Kilchoman signature, though ‘big’ - those first-fills rather ‘obvious’ for the first time tonight. T: Resinous and candid in its makeup, although its still quite a combo. F: Dry chocolatey sherry. C: A freaky one as using Madeira may suggest. Nick brilliantly coins this a ‘Gestalt’ malt at the same moment as i’m swinging between yes & no, leaning in the end firmly to a yes. Why? - it's fun, it works and whether you like it or not, those Madeira casks are rather superb. Looking for a Madeira casked single malt, look no further - recommended. Watch out for a release matured in red wine casks, due around September - likely to be a genuine one off. Scores a B-

The nose is very varied and offers a pleasant interplay of smoke and Madeiranoten. In spite of 50% of the intensity I do not have in my mouth. Since last year's club release and also the single sample, which could be tasted in advance, had more to offer. Nonetheless, of course, for a 4 year old a top quality.

Kilhoman, 50%, is already a different level, and the density appears and the constituents become larger, the depth of which is somehow; The barrel is very active and struggles with the basis for the championship with variable success.

Quite a young whisky, influenced a lot by Madeira casks, but there is no balance in it; the distillery was still learning - as we can see now :)

Nose: strong, lime + Zintronennoten, significant Madeira sweetness, peat is restrained, but present, looks very mature, only in the background is the youth through a bit, sweet charcoal Taste: very sweet, nutty, chocolate, soft Finish: now comes the peat with all its strength, to red berries, strawberry, finally metallic / young Conclusion: delicious, tasty, very well matured - 87 points

You can find our review at http://www.whiskybros.com/#!Kilchoman-Madeira-Cask-Matured-4yo/c21kp/574d58470cf2755d8443f7ea

Teen and "dirty", for his age a certain complexity

Kilchoman Madeira Cask Matured, 50% ABV; distilling in 2011, bottling in 2015; 4yo; first-fill casks after Portuguese, fortified wine - Madeira; 6,100 bottles. Nose: mass, mass of hazelnuts, dried raisins, chocolate; bbq smoked meat; earthiness, a bit of minerality, nutmeg, and it's all wrapped in peat smoke and peat, which completes the whole without suppressing anything. Tongue: again lots of hazelnuts, dried raisins and chocolate; initially delicate, red fruits, turning into intense, almost overripe; bbq smoked meat, far in the background earthiness with smoke and peat. Finish: long, lingering toffee, vanilla, some citrus, leaving ash and leather; then peat and smoke; very warming. Summary: an extremely consistent position, fruity and pleasantly warming with spicy notes in the form of spices and tannins, where the smoke and peat characteristic of the old Kilchoman editions do not cover the whole. Rating: 89.

This Whisky simply is a masterpiece. * One of the few, that totally bans discussions about "age". But one of these, that start discussions about "craftmanship" and "superb cask management". One of the whiskies, that gets nose-palate-finish united. Nutty sweetness, cinnamon (I love it) some wineyard peaches, whipped cream, some roasted almonds, some field buttercups and just a hint of citrus, all lulled in heavy smoke and you think that this is purely natural which means everything is perfectly balanced. There's nothing sharp in it, yet the malt remains powerful. At the end there are some impressions of a shotgun shack, wet soil, and a memory of the salt fields in Portugal, where they make fleur de sal (luxurious, 1st class sea salt) and these last impressions are making it even better. I give it 89 out of a 100 and there's some fantasy for more.The downside: The guys @ Kilchoman distillery are too sparingly with buying these "exotic" casks. Hey guys you've proven that you are able to produce the most brilliant youngtime port and madeira cask Whisky. There should be more than just 10 or 20 casks available for a small batch of these at least once a year, which also will allow a more decent price (hopefully) and a better availability until the next batch would arrive (hopefully).*first tasted at the Kilchoman Landrover tour October 2015 in Würzburg, Germany

A fantastic nose, in the mouth it falls off a bit, but that is whining at a high level, the finish is also great, because he has a fabulous dryness. Great. Unfortunately, he is not as great overall as the barrel sample from last year, but he still deserves a high rating. Of course it is not very complex, but it is simply delicious and enjoyable.

Unbelievable, what was bottled here after only four years of maturation. Clean distillate and the best Madeira barrels have produced an extremely good malt. Expensive? Maybe. But I've already enjoyed many even more expensive and much older malts, which would have clearly outclassed this one. A must-have!

Kilchoman Madeira cask 50% tasted 2016-03 @ Odder N cinnamon, strong wood smoke, star anise G as if biting into an old pirate ship, strong woody, warm and comforting smoke 82

great nose and nice start in the mouth, due to the youth just a little bit of finish. But that will be, we are talking about a 3-4 year old whisky!