Review by: The Muskox

Between Warehouse Liquors and Binny’s, those Chicagoites have a pile of good choices for cask picks.

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Distillery: Kilchoman.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 55.2%. Cask strength.

Age: 8 years. Distilled March 1st 2012. Bottled March 1st 2020.

Cask type: Cask #83/2012, a Madeira cask. Finished for 18 months.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Amber. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Spicy-sweet, with underlying smoky complexity. Baked apples, orange, plums, bread pudding, dripping caramel. Some savoury flavours too, – saucisson, lardons (pardon my French), and grilled pork chop. Warm spices and shaved cedar. Salted cashews and pretzels. Muddy boots drying by the fire in a smoke-filled log cabin.

Palate: Medium-thick texture. Arrives less sweet than the nose, with various peels, salty earth, charred meats, and a little honey. Minerals and drying oak on the development, then rich sweet-and-spicy smoke. Teriyaki beef jerky, turmeric, and cumin. A strong fresh grapefruit note comes in towards the finish.

Finish: Medium-long. Lots more of that grapefruit, along with a habanero spice character. Unexpectedly floral too, with white tea and rosehips. Lime, too, and sweeter flavours of plums and honey. Nori, oysters, dark soy sauce, and smoked sea salt. Fennel seeds and more cumin.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Pork ‘n’ Paloma cottage getaway”

Conclusion: A great cask pick. There’s a meatiness here, a complexity to the savoury flavours that doesn’t always turn up in wine-matured Kilchoman. I love the fragrant notes that come in on the finish too. Very rich, very chewy, very satisfying to drink. Is this somehow as good as yesterday’s Burnside?

Final Score: 87.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.