CLASSIFICATION: Islay Single Malt.
COMPANY: Kilchoman Distillery Co. Ltd.
DISTILLERY: Kilchoman Islay Farm Distillery.
ABV: 46% (90 proof).
AGE: NAS (No Age Statement).
MASHBILL: 100% Malted Barley.
COLOR: Pale cream and brown, with slight reddish hues.
Read in the magazine (rotate your device for a better reading experience):
Kilchoman Sanaig is one of the most interesting expressions in the core range from one of the most recently operating distilleries on the Scottish Isle of Islay. It is bottled without added coloring and matured in a combination of 70 percent ex-Oloroso sherry casks and 30 percent ex-bourbon barrels, the latter sourced from my favorite American distillery, Buffalo Trace.
It reaches 50 PPM (Phenol Parts Per Million), giving it a significant standing among the peated and saline expressions that generally characterize the island’s distilleries.
NOSE: Peat, dark chocolate, and a subtle citrus presence wrapped in notes of pineapple and dried fruit. Balanced and without alcoholic aggression, it has that volatilization that captivates those who unashamedly enjoy peated expressions and who allow the edges of the glass to rest beneath the nose for longer than a less obsessive drinker would consider normal.
PALATE: Pepper, vanilla, dried fruit, smoke, and salinity, alongside a citrus envelope. After the first appreciation, notes of plum, fig, and cherry dominate, in addition to the peat, in an interesting integration of sweetness with the phenol and iodine, which is omnipresent from the barley drying process.
FINISH: Silky and prolonged, the 46 percent ABV with which this whisky is bottled is appreciated, as it provides the precise complexity between the spirit’s personality and the alcohol’s intensity. A spicy background shines through, with very subtle notes of clove and cinnamon, alongside black pepper integrated with the perception of peat.
COMMENTS: Founded in 2005, the distillery launched its first NAS expressions in 2009, and in 2016, after an initial exclusive promotion for the French market (of course, mes amis), Sanaig began its global distribution. This label, like the rest of the distillery’s core range, does not use the chill filtration method or add coloring.
Kilchoman sources its malt mainly from Port Ellen, which it supplements with a certain percentage of its own production. The label is named after a small inlet on the west coast of Islay, and its distinctive profile was created by John Maclellan, and is approved and overseen to this day by Anthony Wills, the distillery’s founder, along with his wife.
