2011 Kilchoman Single Cask #691 Australian Exclusive PX Sherry Cask Finish Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Kilchoman's first ever Australian exclusive. Archival stocks from a private stash at original release pricing.

There are some very enthusiastic Kilchoman fans out there, even a few who have dedicated websites to the distillery. One Melbourne based collector is guilty of hoarding bottlings over the last decade, including volumes of personal favourites, like this - the very first Kilchoman single cask released exclusively for Australia, bottled in 2017. The whisky was matured in a bourbon barrel before being finished in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry hogshead. Having tasted similar expressions, we know these sweeter wood finishes work nicely against Kilchoman's citrusy, maritime spirit which favours early maturation. For anyone who knows anything about the distillery, that's partly by design. When Kilchoman founder, Anthony Wills conceived the operation in the early 2000s, he wasn't buying into a ready-made situation. Instead, a rare opportunity to determine his own house style presented itself. To do so, Wills brought on board Dr. James Swan, a Doctor of Chemistry, regarded as one of Scotland’s leading whisky experts. The brief was to obtain a light, fruity, fast-maturing distillate. The size and shape of the stills were planned according to Swan's specifications. The deliberately prolonged fermentation, the slow, gentle distillation and the unusually tight middle cut were further factors. The result is what we love as Kilchoman today. Wills quickly proved a dab hand at high peat malt and sherry maturation. This expression is going to be unmistakably Islay, featuring all the peat and aromatic lift associated with the island's most emphatic, but just enough sherry adding a fruity plumpness and cocoa richness over the smoke. Lagavulin is probably the only other real contender on Islay to reliably get 'peat and sweet' so right, but for the privilege you'll pay a premium and it won't be cask strength. If the Kilchoman style is your thing, this will be a matter of duty. To see it return to a collector's cache would be a crime against whisky. 57.5% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered.