Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2019 Edition)

Nose: Relaxed and laid-back woody peat-reek, smoke-dried fruit (is there such a thing?), oiled leather, mild baking spices and candied orange peel. There's an earthy, almost mouldy note at play as well. Adding water develops strong sweet berry notes. [The dry glass has a very faint smoky aroma]. Palate: Sweet, mildly spicy smoke with good density and many dark fruity notes in the foundation. It has a buttery quality and a fig jam note appears in the development. The oloroso sherry casks can be clearly discerned and the texture is oily but balanced by slight dry tannin. The addition of water is highly recommended as it develops the palate further and certainly produces more smokiness. There is no trace of plastic or metallic notes and no intrusive alcohol heat. Finish: Medium. The jammy note slowly changes to berry compote on the aftertaste. Sweet lingering smoke is the final impression, and adding water intensifies this. This is the most dark-fruit styled Loch Gorm I've tasted. It's unquestionably a good whisky and arguably the most complex and complete bottling to date. It's also heading steadily away from its roots towards the direction of Sanaig's profile. I think I preferred this whisky a couple of years ago when it was more raw and less polite. There was once a brisk feral woodiness to the peat-reek but it seems to be getting more domesticated with each release. In my review of the 2018 bottling I said that in comparison to the 2017 the "bonfire smoke had moved from the beach to the farmyard". Now it seems to be smoldering in the forest, and the fire is burning on damp ground. Over time in the glass the wood-smoke character of the new make begins to reassert itself over the cask influence, but it's not the instant hit in the face it used to be. It gave me the impression of being complacent rather than bursting with enthusiasm. However adding water improved this dram considerably and I'd strongly recommend a half to a full teaspoon. There was no Australian allocation for this release so I've not quoted a price below, but going on the trend from past years it would probably have been around AUS$175. Many thanks to @Soba45 for the tasting sample. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)

So I like or maybe even love the bay. It is one of my favorite low priced peated whiskies and as I mature as a drinker and become...well a bit of a snob it remains one that I still very much like and come back to. That said I've always kinda ignored this one due to the price and well, I'm not sure it's going to really work. So I bit the bullet, lets find out. nose - I get a distinct mint right off the bat. Heck it's spearmint. Touch of fruity elements but subtle. Then a slightly medicinal or putty clay peat. There's a lot here but it's not overly strong smelling. taste - Overly oaked, charred, BBQ, with a sweet BBQ sauce (some citrus and salty elements here for sure). That's this glass in a nut shell. The the finish is candy cigarettes, light oak, and just sugar crystals. There's a lingering slightly earthy and oak finished here too. Now I can see someone picking up some chocolate, some earth, a lot of dried leaves, and man it's menthol and spearmint all the way through. Do I like this more than the bay? Honestly, not really. It's a bit more complex and there's some older whisky in it. The higher sherry content however doesn't really help this one imo. It doesn't hurt it either, it's just a different expression. This is a HARD whisky to score. OK so talking out loud, it's insanely complex so 4 stars. The complexity has a lot to do with off and youthful notes. So maybe 2 stars? The alcohol is perfectly balanced and the whisky drinks far more full bodied and rich and intense than any 46% whisky, so 3 stars? Hell I'm going 3.25 stars here. There's a case that this is far better and a case that I'm over rating it. Overall a good buy at about 100 bucks. Really complex and a must try for peat lovers. Will I buy again? You know, I'll start buying each year's batch but maybe not backups.

When I poured my first dram of the Loch Gorm, there was an unfortunate dribble which I collected on my hands and rubbed them together before taking a deep sniff. Now I was excited. Heavy campfire smoke with BBQ grill the morning after putting a good crust on a pork roast was dominating. It was time to get my nose in the glass after contemplating the smell of the oils on my hands a few minutes. Surprise! The smoke and peat were there on the nose, but subdued and layered with dark fruit, sultanas, oak, pepper, some earthiness. The sherry cask influence is beautiful, fruity, and giving this peated scotch unexpected depth. I’ve read that this years release contains barrels from 2006 - 2011. The 13 and 12 year-old barrels are adding some depth and dark fruit that can only come with age, while I’m getting some of the sharper, younger smoke and peat as well. This is well integrated and to my taste. The palette does not disappoint. Rich, oily mouthfeel confirms that this is not chill-filtered. Dark fruit, earthy peat, smoked meat, ash, brandied sultanas, brine, oak spice. The finish is oak and some astringent quality. I put off buying this because, despite liking the Sauternes Finish release from 2018, I’d read some fairly negative reviews (and some good ones) of the 2019 Loch Gorm. Whiskey is a subjective thing. I spoke to a coworker today who loves Dewars. Seriously? So I decided to give the family distillery the benefit of the doubt and picked up a bottle. I’m glad I did. I’ll savor these drams.

(3 Kilchoman Evening with a dram of Machir Bay, Sanaig and Loch Gorm each. This Loch Gorm is the 2020 release.) Nose: very welcoming with the delicious signature Kilchoman peat which btw I much prefer over the Islay veterans from Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Co. - it is on par quality wise with the peat style of Bunnahabhain which I also like a lot. Additionally there is some really dark and dry sherry which almost isn’t fruity anymore. Also cold iced black tea with pomegranate or maybe hibiscus flowers which are more sour than sweet. Very interesting. Palate: a nice fruity balance of sweet and red fruits / berries. Much more accessible as the Machir Bay for sure because it pulls equally hard an both the sweet and and woody peat strings. Very likable for sure. The alcohol is quite strong though. Intense but not smooth although nicely malty sweet - burned malt in fact. Finish: long and dominated by the peat but directly followed by a dry sherry depth. Very much recommend this as a fantastic Islay alternativ to people (like me) who can’t access the rubber / plastic / tennis ball / band aids / ash / cold smoke character of other representatives from that unique island. Very interesting, deep and intense.

At age 37, i have come to terms that there are some things i will not see in my lifetime. Maybe the Yeti, Ecuador winning the Fifa World cup or a bad Kilchoman Islay Whisky. They just make amazing whisky. This time, i had the chance to taste the 2019 Loch Gorm, which is matured in 20 different oloroso sherry casks from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Only 15.000 bottles of this expression were made, and man, it is a good dram. Bottled at 46% abv, deep copper color. On the nose; just impressive. Leather, new shoes, fresh can of tennis balls, tar, moss, citric lemon, naphtalene, sand and seaweed. It is as peaty as you can imagine. On the palate, perfection. Sweet Molasses, raisins bathed in chocolate, smoke. Second sip revealed strawberries, toffee and more molasses. All the sherriness was found here, with a dim smoke surrounding it. Aftertaste is smokey. Cigarrettes, ashes, log bonfire. Very maritime. Amazing. Overall this is an amazing whisky, from the youngest working distillery on Islay, who seems to have gathered all the islay profile and added some depth and boldness with the sherriness. The palate on this is delicious. My score for it is 95 over 100. Marvelous.

For me, Kilchoman has been one of my favorites. They’ve consistently produced top notch products, with a very reasonable price tag. We don’t give enough credit to those distilleries that have such a consistent output across all their lines, and yet you can readily find it and pay not more than $110-125 in the US and $80-100 in EU. And, this , their Loch Gorm has that magical peat + sherry maturation to make it smoky sweet. This sample comes courtesy from my kiwi buddy @Soba45. I had my first Loch Gorm years ago, probably 2015 or so . That was a brute, but really well made brute. This is a different Loch Gorm. Creamier, more elegant. It’s aged well, adding a layer of elegance to the peat. You get the classic smoke up front, but the mouthfeel is more like liquified butter. If you see this around $100, it’s a no brainer buy. Skip the Ardbeg latest release hype or the Macallan “how deep are your pockets “ releases. This is better. Thanks @Soba45 for the pour !