Time for another TWE Exclusive, which is going online today – an ex-bourbon cask aged for 13 years by Kilchoman. This young distillery is getting older (having been opened in 2005), and we’re seeing older and older stock, along with younger finished youngsters.
When the distillery was released lovely 3 and 4-year-old casks, I was thinking to myself “Wow, this is lovely, but I want to see how this young peaty whisky will age”, and I must say it has aged wonderfully, although peaty whiskies tend to shine when young, this 13-year-old (not exactly old whisky, mind you) is still very much Kilchoman as we know and love it.
The whisky at hand was Filled on 18/7/2007 and Bottled 25/2/2021 at a nice 53.9% ABV, Matured in a single first-fill bourbon cask.
Kilchoman 2007 / 13 yo TWE Exclusive , 53.9% cask 197/2007 , £125
Nose: Quite malty to start with, with nice cereals and dough notes, a touch of vanilla custard then more of a fruity touch as well in the form of ripe apples, and citrus candy, all engulfed by notes of dry ashes, some iodine, and faint medicinal notes as well as tar.
Palate: freshly crushed black pepper, chilly then Smoky and sweet with marinated BBQ meat, more of the apples and fruit, vanilla custard and barley sugars, a hint of pepper and soot, then more creamy vanilla and toasted oak, a dash of salt, and quite some bonfire smoke, spent cigar and earth.
Finish: spent cigar, earth, soot, ashtray ash, and toasted oak.
Conclusion: Lovely stuff, textbook ex-bourbon maturation of a peated whisky, showing enough complexity, with sweet/bitter/smoky and medicinal qualities along with creamy vanilla and oak. Good stuff.
Score: 89/100
Available exclusively from the TWE shop for £125 (from today)