Kilchoman 2015 Single Cask Release Collection Itinéraires Part 1 10 yo

 

 

 

54,1°

Distillery : Kilchoman - Islay 

1st Fill Pedro Ximénez Hogshead 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 50 ppm

 

 

 

On the occasion of Whisky Live Paris 2025, Kilchoman launched two bottlings designed to be included in the Collection Itinéraires as part of a priority sale in France. The first is this one, the product of a 1st Fill Pedro Ximénez Hogshead, in which the precious liquid stayed for ten years, 1 month and ten days, which yeldied 318 bottles. The design on the label pays homage to the Sleeping Giant, a rock formation of three cliffs, on the Atlantic Coast of Islay. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The sherry is very intense and sweeps all before it, salted butter caramel, dried apricots and dates, raspberry coulis, dragon fruit, smoke rich with soot and earth, fresh truffles, a hint of exotic fruit, and a touch of citrus. On the palate, the same profile emerges, notes of blood oranges, blackberry and redcurrant jam, dark tobacco, thick, mossy and herbaceous peat, powerful spices, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper. The finish is long and full-bodied, dried banana, burnt rubber, hot tarmac, cherry clafoutis, subtle cereal notes, heather honey.

 

In Short, 

This is a typical sherry cask whisky, with a very pronounced peaty character, where the distillery’s distinctive profile is somewhat lost, but it’s very well made and intense. You have to like sherry, of course, but otherwise there’s nothing to complain about, except perhaps the price, which is a bit high for what it is.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                  To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                            Spurv - Som Skyer

Kilchoman 2006 Single Cask Release Collection Itinéraires Part 2 18 yo

 

 

 

48,1°

Distillery : Kilchoman - Islay 

Refill Bourbon Barrel

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 50 ppm

 

 

 

On the occasion of Whisky Live Paris 2025, Kilchoman launched two bottlings designed to be included in the Collection Itinéraires as part of a priority sale in France. The second is this one, the product of a Refill Bourbon Barrel that held the precious liquid for 18 years, 6 months and 24 days, yielding 161 bottles. Until 2007, the distillery used peated barley sourced from Port Ellen, before growing its own barley. This release is therefore special in that it was made using barley sourced from elsewhere. The design on the label pays homage to Kilnave Chapel, a ruin located a few kilometres north of the distillery on Islay, near Loch Gruinart. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Woody and grainy peat, a hint of slightly medicinal iodine, where ether blends with the sea breeze, a mineral character with limestone and quartz, and grassy herbs. The influence of the Bourbon brings a delicate fruitiness, hazy citrus, and a few floral notes. An evanescent palate, where wisps of peat settle over grapefruit pulp, milky vanilla and coconut. It is chiselled, coastal, rocky, and the spices are also present. A very good finish, long and powerful, on sage and aniseed, egg custard, rice pudding, slate and cut hay, gravel, dried peat.

 

In Short, 

In my opinion, this is an excellent Kilchoman, one of the best. The alcohol content isn’t particularly high, and it’s perfectly integrated; the distillery’s character is intense, and the finish is perfectly balanced. It feels as though you’re on Islay on a slightly rainy spring day. The only downside is the relatively high price, which dampens the enthusiasm somewhat.

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                           I Häxa - The Well

Kilchoman 2011 Single Cask Release Distillery Exclusive 13 yo

 

 

 

51,4°

Distillery : Kilchoman - Islay

Bourbon Cask

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 50 ppm 

 

 

 

This one is a 13-year, 9-month and 11-day-old single cask, matured in a Bourbon cask, intended solely for sale at the distillery shop. It’s surprising that they thought to take a bottle back to France to let people try it, given that only those who made the trip to the distillery could buy it. But it’s a nice gesture on their part. 240 bottles have been released for sale. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Fluffy vanilla, whipped egg whites, a burst of citrus, and powerful mineral and chalky notes. The peat isn’t very strong, but it’s still very much present, sooty smoke, a sea breeze, crystalline iodine. On the palate, it is honeyed, slices of lemon and crème brûlée, a few subtle fruits, and a good layer of peat, with well-controlled spices. A long and explosive finish, shortbread biscuits, coarse sea salt, dates and raisins, bananas, almond milk. Fairly clear wisps of smoke. 

 

In Short, 

A fine Kilchoman, typically matured in Bourbon casks, with a not-too-strong peatiness, it’s dangerously appealing. This is what they should be doing more often, straightforward maturation that allows the power of the spirit to shine through, a Single Cask that reveals all its complexity, and sufficient age to give it body. The only slight drawback: the price, a bit steep for what it is. The only reason to resist buying it. Oh no, there’s another one: you have to travel 1,350 km to get your hands on a bottle! 

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                             The Sugarcubes - Deus

Springbank 12 yo Cask Strength Batch 28

 

 

 

55,5°

Distillery : Springbank - Campbeltown

100% Bourbon Casks

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 12 ppm

 

 

 

This one is the second 12-year-old Cask Strength release of 2025, it was bottled in September 2025 for a release in early December, just in time for some people to have a lovely Christmas present. For the occasion, it is a 100% Bourbon Cask release, a format previously used for Batch 23 in 2021, which was very well received by consumers. Why change a winning formula? Unfortunately, it is not known how many bottles are being released.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Wax and crushed plums, young wood, freshly cut hay, candied lemon, mirabelle plums, a very light charcoal smoke. Pastry cream, grapefruit, banana, white currants. Molasses and an unlit cigar. On the palate, wheat and blond tobacco, dry straw, but it’s oily too, olive oil, English cream, vanilla extract, and violent spices, pepper, clove, cumin. Perhaps a zest of clementine. A long and explosive finish that keeps building in intensity, charcoal crumbs, milk chocolate, crushed roots, peanuts, a pinch of salt, candied apples. Trace of minerals.

 

In Short, 

Despite the similar maturation, I find it slightly different from Batch 23. It’s very citrusy, with crushed fruit notes, and quite indulgent. The distillery’s character is slightly less pronounced, but it is very pleasant to drink, with a lovely balance and plenty of fruit, cream and wax. That said, I wouldn’t rank this one amongst the best in the series, only amongst the very good ones – and they are all very good. However, it is really hard to find, and often at a disproportionate price, a victim of its own success.  

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                                  Oh Hiroshima - Meridian

Inchmurrin 1973 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 37 yo c. 3380

 

 

 

44,3° 

Distillery : Loch Lomond - Highlands 

Refill Bourbon Barrel 

Independent Bottling 

By Gordon & MacPhail 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2010 

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated 

 

 

 

Having opened in 1966, the Loch Lomond distillery was only seven years old when it distilled this whisky, but it already had the straight-necked stills used to produce Inchmurrin, one of Loch Lomond’s many brands. The result of this distillation was then aged for 37 years and 5 months in a Refill Bourbon Barrel, and when the cask was emptied, there was only enough left to make 149 bottles. It is worth noting that there is a Sister Cask, distilled and bottled on almost the same day, Cask 3381. Both were presented at Whisky Live Paris in 2010, for priority sale in France. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

A full-bodied and fresh nose, slightly vinegary, balsamic, wood and warm chestnuts, damp bark, dried dates, liquorice, warm earth, cooked mushrooms, followed by evanescent vanilla, a few fruits, a hint of iodine, herbaceous notes, reeds, tall grasses. On the palate, chestnut cream, prunes, there is a lovely character, fermented blackberries, not overly strong spices, black pepper. A long, powerful, explosive and deep finish, earthy roots, cola, dried sage, peppermint leaf, aniseed, heather. 

 

In Short, 

A lot of people say that Inchmurrin is herbal, and it is, but I find it’s mainly forest-like, and I quite like that. Amidst the mushrooms and bark, you can sense the freshness of a clearing, the fruit notes are there but very subtle. There’s a character I hadn’t noticed in the few Inchmurrins I’ve tasted, and a lovely spring-like freshness. It really is an interesting and original bottling, though it’s completely impossible to find at the moment. 

Score : 89 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                              To Be Listened While Sipping : 

                                               Vraell - Guitar Meditation VII

Kilchoman 2009 20th Anniversary Cask Series 15 yo

 

 

 

52,7°

Distillery : Kilchoman - Islay

Ex-Oloroso Sherry Butts 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2025

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 50 ppm 

 

 

 

The second bottling released to celebrate the distillery’s 20th anniversary is this one, a 15-year-old whisky matured entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry butts. Five casks in total, yielding a total of 3,153 bottles. Anthony Wills, the distillery’s founder, selected 20 casks and divided them across four different expressions, each emblematic of the brand. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is very dense, with powerful, earthy, mineral peat, slightly woody, whilst the sherry notes bring out cherries, blueberries and blackcurrants. Amarena cherries, red fruit tart, assorted redcurrants, dates and raisins, cocoa powder, a hint of rancio, barbecue sauce, cinnamon, fried bacon, intense charcoal. The palate is creamy yet earthy, root-like peat, sticky chocolate and caramel, candied red berries, wood varnish, rich spices. The finish is long and violent, fruit paste, hazelnut custard, leather, damp bark, a pinch of sea salt, dried seaweed, freshly extinguished ashes. Mint leaf. 

 

In Short, 

It has to be said that the cask takes up a lot of space. This is a lovely, full-bodied and intense sherry, with a variety of flavours. It’s best suited to those who appreciate this style, but it’s very well made, with the alcohol perfectly integrated. The price is unfortunately high, but everyone is entitled to their little indulgences. 

Score : 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                            Echoberyl - Morgana

Ardbeg 1978 Spirit of Scotland 22 yo c. 454

 

 

 

53°

Distillery : Ardbeg - Islay

Bourbon Cask 

Independent Bottling 

By Gordon & MacPhail 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2000

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Heavily Peated

 

 

 

As you only live once, I treated myself to a few centilitres of this rare find in a specialist bar. It really is a piece of history, apparently, back then, Gordon & MacPhail went by the name of Speymalt Whisky Ltd, and the type of cask isn’t specified anywhere. However, it is indeed cask-strength, which wasn’t all that common at the time. As for the peat level, it varied back then, ranging from 40 to 80 ppm, as the distillery malted its own barley until 1980. It is, of course, impossible to know how many bottles were released. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It :   

Light yet persistent peat, grainy and mineral, quartz and gypsum, with coastal notes, sea spray, dried seaweed, rubbed citrus, crystalline vanilla, lace-like iodine, coconut cream, cigarette ash, untreated wood. Very smooth and oily on the palate, citrusy, a few yellow plums, brown sugar, slightly minty or even aniseed-like spices, ginger, lychee. An extremely long and full-bodied finish, molasses, raisins, waxed wood, dried bananas, charcoal nuggets, chlorophyll, peppermint leaves. 

 

In Short, 

Old whiskies are always expensive, but they’re not always brilliant. That said, this one is still an excellent product, very old-school, meaning it has a lovely balance and a subtle minerality. The peat isn’t strong—around 30 ppm, I’d say—but the bottle has certainly been open for years, and it was almost finished. No jarring flavours, just a hint of charcoal on the finish, and plenty of fruit, especially on the palate, it really was a different distillery back then. Lots of elegance, restraint and complexity, yet not overly intense, it’s easy to drink despite being 22 years old. In short, a lovely experience, but not a mind-blower. The bottle can still be found, provided you’re prepared to empty your savings account. I’d advise waiting for it to come up at auction if you absolutely must have it, the price will be more reasonable. 

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                            mesh - This World

Caol Ila 1990 Whiskyland Chapter Twenty-Eight 35 yo

 

 

 

44,5°

Distillery : Caol Ila - Islay

Refill Hogshead

Independent Bottling 

By Decadent Drinks 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2026

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 35 ppm 

 

 

 

The truly legendary Caol Ilas are those from the early 1980s, but I’m certainly not going to turn this one down either, distilled in 1990 and matured for 35 long years in a refill hogshead, before being bottled in a run of 226 bottles. With this new range, named Whiskyland and launched in 2024, Angus MacRaild and Iain MacClune, founders of Decadent Drinks, are truly working wonders. 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The peat is quite powerful given the age of the whisky – the first surprise. It’s medicinal, fuel oil and kerosene, beautifully balanced by coastal, cliff-like and quartz notes, along with airy iodine, there’s still a tremendous amount of character – the second surprise. Shades of citrus, a very light trace of vanilla, gravel, the cask seems to have left very little of its mark – the third surprise. On the palate, it’s the opposite, thick honey, pulpy fruit, with a touch of exoticism, banana, pineapple, white peaches, mirabelle plums and very ripe yellow plums, the peat is barely detectable, the spices very subtle, it’s incredible. A massive, endless finish, candied lemon, sea spray, Breton biscuits, olive oil, crème brûlée, a drop of tar, mille-feuilles. 

 

In Short, 

It’s absolutely insane, one of the best Caol Ilas I’ve ever tasted, and certainly the one that best represents the distillery. It has it all, the distillery’s pure character with its coastal notes, a peat that’s fiercely intense and uncompromising, but also beautifully integrated fruit and magnificent nuances. Truly a piece of history, probably better than the few Caol Ilas from the 1980s that I’ve tasted. As for the price, it’s commensurate with the exceptional character of the whisky, boundless. 

Score : 91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                 To Be Listened While Sipping : 

 

                                                  Eivør - Healer