Kilchoman Feis Ile 2025 Founder's cask research

1) Kilchoman 2011 2025 14 yrs 55.3% vol. 145/2011, WB274176

2) Kilchoman 2010 2025 14 yrs 50.0% vol. 497/2010, WB274180

3) Kilchoman 2011 2025 14 yrs 53.4 % vol. 258/2010, WB274177

4) Kilchoman 2006 2025 18 yrs 50.3% vol. 163/2006, WB274175

1: Nose: metallic, mineral, chalk dust, mild smoked tofu, now salmon, marine.

Mouth: Grappa, eau de vie, cinnamon, dates, Christmas bread, leavened bread, gingerbread with chilli.

Finish: Ginger, white pepper, numbingly alcoholic. Burnt sugar. Espresso.

88/85/84

2: Nose: Old leather sofa, cellar mustiness, wet coal, wet animals, cats, dogs, hamsters. Smoked bacon. Some honey, cream candy and heather, perhaps pine and cedar. Toffee.

Mouth: Salted caramel candy, peat forward, sweet overripe red apples. Apple scramble.

Finish: Oily, mouth coating, ocean surf, seaweed, bacon and wild mushrooms.

88/87/87

3: Nose: Solvent, glue, varnish, hospital, burnt tyres, paraffin after an accident. Oil can, garage.

Mouth: Ashtray, bread dropped into campfire, taken out and licked. Charcoal, coked and extinguished, of course. Burnt sausage, more like sucuk or chorizo, but very coked. Umami. BBQ.

Finish: Cigarette butts, if you leave them smoldering over the filter. Long, brandy, coffee, dark chocolate.

88/87/84

4: Nose: Smoked eel, but very subtle. Strawberry jam, cheese bread with honey and jam, a thin slice of smuggled Black Forest ham. Slate, wet asphalt.

Mouth: Chewy, grainy, salt grains, tannins. Red wine, Shiraz, Australia. Chocolate, latte macchiato.

Finish: Espresso, black pepper, sticky, burnt sugar, sea vegetables, mussels.

89/87/85

Glen Garioch 1988 2025 36 yrs. Finn Thomson (FnTs) 45.2 %, WB272267

Prosaicness, I came across this word in a fantasy book. It means as much as mundane, unexciting, dull, average. When I drink whisky, I accept neither ordinariness nor dullness. This drink is highly poisonous, even lethal in certain quantities. Why should I drink ordinary whisky? For me, drinking whisky is always a special occasion and a mindful act, never ordinary or boring. This one here is far from being prosaic. Glen Garioch 1988, almost a relic of a bygone age.

Nose: Imagine the ancient library in Alexandria, here and there mould from the leaking roof, some books completely dusty and decaying, others fresh from the printing press. Wood and pencil shavings everywhere. Leather covers and worn furniture. Dunnage warehouse, with cognac and armagnac. These impressions are joined by light hints of lime and limoncello, lemon sorbet ice cream, vanilla pudding and crème brullee, rice pudding with a hint of cinnamon. Preserved

gooseberries.

Mouth: Wow, a very noble aged cognac, not sharp but oaky, very elegant and wise, deep and meaningful. The texture is unfortunately a bit thin, not viscous, watery, not sticky, not palatable. Charcoal in the mouth, smoked tofu.

Finish: The finish is long enough, but inappropriate for the age. A somewhat shy contemporary. Do not expect too much. Fragile! Subtle earthy aromas, forest floor and brown mushrooms linger in the mouth. A wonderful journey through time, far away from everyday life.

95/92/90

Ballindalloch 2016 2024 08 60.6 % #225, WB257280

Time and patience are the magic words when it comes to whisky. Both in maturation and in enjoyment, time and patience conjure up this amazing drink in the cask, and on the palate it is this very drink that enchants the senses and the mind. This one is only 8 years old, is that enough magic?
Nose: after a long wait, the first aromas are of sugar water with rose petals and vanilla, followed by alpine herbs and alpine flowers - cyclamen? In any case, the freshness of the mountains, a melting glacier, snow in the air, cheerful hikers resting in mountain inns, do I smell Kaiserschmarrn? There are also fresh waffles and vanilla ice cream.
The palate: Wonderful sweetness with lots of herbs and spices spread around the mouth. The sweetness is the sugar sweetness, but also some melon, honeydew melon, herbal tea served ice cold.
Finish: Oily consistency in the mouth, density, chewy, viscous, long finish, not very alcoholic, surprisingly. Some wheat beer on the finish to match the mountains, slightly yeasty and even hoppy. Banana and melon make a wonderful summer mix. Take your time and enjoy your time on earth.

89/89/88

Mortlach 21 2003 2025 58,3 % SV TWE, WB275255

One of the few worm tub distilleries. Apparently Diageo likes worm tubs. According to the Edinburgh Whisky Academy, the other worm-tub distilleries are Ardnahoe, Ballindaloch, Balmenach, Benrinnes, Brora, Cragganmore, Craigellachie, Dalwhinnie, Edradour, Glen Elgin, Glenkinchie, Knockdhu, Oban, Pulteney, Royal Lochnagar, Speyburn, Springbank, Talisker, Rosebank.

After 2 hours: Nose: Lemon peel, fresh herbs, lemon balm. Different glasses reveal different flavours. Chalk cliffs, freshly laid screed. Wet, freshly cleaned board, solvent. Dust, especially chalk dust. Sorrel. Pasture in the Allgäu, greasy sweet pastries, perhaps fried sweets? That's right, churros. A gym with freshly used equipment, magnesia in the air and on sweaty bodies. First impressions can be deceiving, it takes time.

The palate: Wow, nutmeg, cinnamon, minerals, herbs garden and soup. A few drops of water would make this even sweeter.

Finish: Sweetened green tea, Riesling Steillage Schiefer, a bite of chalky rock, some lemon zest, green apples, mildly spicy paprika.

91/91/92

Glenlivet 28 2024 50.1% The Fine Art of Whisky, WB270207

Another old school whisky. What can we expect? Pure inspiration. We live in a different time with different bottlings. So-called modern whiskies, spirits are distilled too quickly because time is money, filling strength is higher now than it used to be because interaction with the wood is quicker then, casks are artificially heated because maturation is accelerated then, first-fill casks are very wet, etc. And this one? Slow and long maturing, the complete opposite, ok, it's Glenlivet, but a different one.

Nose: Very elegant, herbs, powdered sugar, toffee, white chocolate, some Earl Grey, floral like white tea. Now sweet, creamy East Frisian tea with lots of cream and rock candy. Oregano, basil and a B minor aria in the background. The longer the infusion is left, the sweeter it becomes, but the character varies. Sometimes nougat, sometimes Raffaello, cream sweets or halva, ahoibrause or Haribo Tutti Frutti, paradise apples or toasted almonds.

Taste: Herbs, nutmeg, cinnamon. The sweetness is shy and still hiding, but wants to be poetically lured out. Don't be afraid, everything will be fine, come out and be brave. Be proud, you deserve it, a little chilli and a flood of flavours. A little bitter almond, grapefruit seeds, a few drops of water, a slight change. Nuts but not sweet kisses, depth and mature nobility.

Finish: Long and persistent, slightly oily, alcoholic, black tea and sesame, tahini, slightly toasted. Pure poetry, almost haikuish.

92/91/90

Glenburgie 28 1996 2024 54,8% GM, WB268134

It is incredible how many bottles are released every day these days. So how can an enthusiast like me try to taste them all? It is simply impossible, unhealthy or even deadly. What I do is hunt for worthy bottles, for gold and silver treasures, for precious stones, diamonds and smaragds. Every now and then I find a gem like this. Glenburgie, like Miltonduff, was home to a pair of 'Lomond' stills from 1958 to 1981, producing a malt known as Glencraig. In 2004 the old distillery was demolished and a new, larger, open plan distillery was built. A third pair of stills was added at this time. The distillery has been owned by Chivas Brothers since 2005.  

Nose: A warm summer fragrance with vanilla sauce, Werthers Echte and  other cream sweets, caressing, feels like home. I am embraced by coconut and white chocolate. Lots of nougat and a very flowery white tea. This nose can only be described as a feeling of having arrived.

Palate: A slight spiciness tingles on the tongue and wakes you up on the endless white beach. A few herbs emphasise the almost sugary sweetness of the drink. Balsen butter biscuits, but also Neapolitans and shortbread. Now toffee is also making its presence felt, oiling the mouth a little and numbing the lips like a spider woman's kiss.

Finish: Every beautiful journey ends, as does this one. The end is a long time coming, slightly warming, very melancholy like a sunset under palm trees, a reminiscence of the first great love, long gone. The longing grows to set off in search of new treasures, a really true gem, thanks to whomsoever.

93/93/94