Kilchoman Machir Bay (2020 Edition)

Note - I'm doing the Really Good Whisky Company Advent Calendar. I've also decided to pour these whiskeys "blind" (or at least as blind as I can), then providing nose, palate, and finish notes. I'll then look at the label, proof, cask type, etc. before writing my other notes. I'll be providing some guesses around things like proof and cask type and then seeing how much I missed the mark. Slàinte Mhath! Nose: Yum! Iodine, brine, sea spray, and is that peat?! This is either Islay or Island - sticking with the former here. Behind the Islay character there's some toasted grains and honey. Also lovely touches of vanilla, fruits, and oak. Very approachable nose - 46% or so maybe? Maybe some non ex-bourbon cask? Ex-wine? If there's sherry then it's either a small percentage or it was used for finishing. Very mildly floral, citrus oil brightness buried in there, as well. Lack of new make funk and lighter oak makes me want to guess around 10 years. None of that banana character I get so this has to be a single malt. Palate: Brine, honey, oak, fruits. Honeyed toasted cereal grains. Earth and soil. Honeysuckle, orange blossoms, rounded out with some vanilla. Apricots, strawberries - but not in a dense sugary way. Some pepper and nutmeg, though I'm not getting much of a cinnamon vibe. I could probably narrow things down to one of a few distilleries since this doesnt seem to fit the profile of, say, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, or Ardbeg. There's some familiarity to it but I'm not quite sure what it is. This washes over the palate beautifully, especially prominent on the middle/back. This has some solid balance, though not much depth or "bass". Medium light mouthfeel. Finish: Herbs, brine, earth, and some whisps of smoke. Light, sweet oak character sets the stage for vanilla, citrus oils, and light fruits. Slowly things evolve and there's some reasonable tannins presenting. Eventually everything settles down into some ash, oak, and vanilla pleasantly fading away. Medium long length. Other notes: Ahhh yes. Kilchoman Machir Bay. A beautiful example of Islay, and a bottle I had the pleasure of buying a few years ago. I got the proof bang-on, the cask types pretty bang-on (their site says roughly 90% ex-bourbon, 10% oloroso sherry), the region bang-on. This is an NAS bottling so I can't confirm the age. That's a small bummer, but I'm not really a stickler for age statements. While I'd like some transparency about what's in the bottle, it's also pretty common to not get into the nitty-gritty like that. This is an excellent expression and one that I completely forgot about. I really need to pick up another, as well as their Sanaig, and go on another deep dive. Before that, however, I need to clear out a few bottles in the cabinet. If times were different, I'd be holding many "blind tasting events" just to help get rid of the stuff. Until then, I guess Christmas trees aren't the only things getting lit this year. Until next time, cheers!

Rating: 11/23 N: Smoke, light peat, tart, some seawater, sweet minerality turning into something like pear. Oh, a little banana too. A little earthiness comes out of the peat and there's some spiciness that touches a bit on chili pepper in addition to the usual cinnamon. Vanilla. My overall impress is that this is fairly light you a clean, youthful sweetness. P: Sweet with pear, banana, apple, vanilla. There's smoke and peat of course, but as the palate goes on what I find highlighted more is sort of a tartness mixed with faint suggestions of some sort of terroir. Mild chocolate with a touch of cinnamon. Sugar water. A bit of black pepper and chili pepper give some prickliness and substantial heat, the latter of which is odd with the thin mouthfeel and light flavor. Although initially substantial, the peat quickly loses its forcefulness. It does linger as a background layer of herbaceousness mixed with light oiliness to go with the smoke. There's also a slight flavor of roast meat. This seems quite youthful, but I don't get any alcohol or bad funk off of it. It's just tending toward the watery side without much flavor beyond a light coat of smoke and peat. F: Sweet with vague recollection of pears and vanilla. Then there's chocolate and chili pepper richness and heat that's a little like mole. Faint roast meat. - Conclusion - This is certainly odd for an Islay Scotch. It's like a mellow, sweet, young, fruity distillate was blended with some moderately young peated scotch. It's an unusual and interesting dram, though I can't say that I especially care for it. I wouldn't go so low as a 9 here, but a 13 is definitely too high. Picking now, I'd probably go for a 10. Actually, trying it side by side with Highland Park 12 (12/23), I think this can have an 11. Thanks for sharing this, @PBMichiganWolverine . I'd been curious to try the Machir Bay line and it was a great addition to my Kilchoman tasting series.

This is quite tasty... Well-crafted. Composed. Quality. Pale yellow. Mezcal nose - smoke, salt, and a touch of vegetation, then buttery biscuit, faint almond, and raw grain. Rich and very sweet to start the taste, evolving quickly to embrace the peat. Smoked whipped cream with sea salt. Deeply pleasing flavors, but simple. A slap of smoke that somehow stays sweet and inviting. Admittedly not a side-by-side, but I'll be darned if this isn't Laphroaig 10's demure and cultured sibling that can get invited to any soiree, is friendly and personable and interesting, but doesn't ruffle any feathers and ultimately maybe isn't quite the life of the party either? Kilchoman is home by midnight while Lap10 is recounting the night's achievements at a diner at 4:30 am. Similar medicinal notes, but even though Lap is quite sweet somehow this tops it, and is even defined by it. Not complaining by any measure, and this bottle will go quite fast I'm sure... just wondering if I had to choose between the two why I'd lean this way.

This is non chill-filtered and natural color. The appearance is like a riesling wine. It’s very light in color. Nose: Light campfire smoke similar to the Lagavulin. Although, I remember more peatiness on the nose for the Lagavulin 16. Peach/pear, citrus, pineapple. Palate: Tropical fruits, white chocolate, smoke. Some mild vegetal notes and melon. Finish: I think there’s more to be desired in the finish. I find it a bit light. This leaves you with notes of sea water, black pepper, and the syrup from a jar of peaches. Also, some pleasant tobacco notes. Good representation from Kilchoman. This is my first whisky from this distillery and I’m very interested to try more of their expressions! Edit: Upon further tastings, I’m getting banana cream pie on the palate. I discovered this after a dram of Ardbeg Corryvreckan. This whisky tasted like liquid banana cream pie!

A complex, Single Malt Scotch Whisky by the Kilchoman Distillery; a farm distillery founded by Anthony Wills; in Islay, Scotland. It is made using 30% of their own barley & the balance is purchased from Port Ellen Maltings. It's a vatting of 4 & 5-year-old Bourbon cask matured & Oloroso-finished malt. It has a smoky birth with notes of straw, salted white chocolate & hints of sherry; while a balanced & clean life adds notes of black pepper, butterscotch, lemon peel, fresh strawberry & fruit punch; that led to a long & tar death with notes of peat, salt & baking spices. November 2021

Very fresh nose with wood smoke, vanilla and citrus which follows through to the palate with lemon becoming apparent - almost like a lemon girl scout cookie that has been smoked. It's not overwhelming and there is good balance. The freshness of everything is what really stands out, which is likely due to a young, well made spirit that hasn't had a ton of cask influence - from wet Buffalo Trace barrels by the way. The finish lingers nicely. I'm really impressed by it. I hated this when I tried it long ago but it appears my palate has caught up. Reminds me of a young IB Caol Ila.