Kilchoman French Inspiration No. 2 Bourbon /Oloroso /Sauternes /49,1%/ – Kilchoman Distillery takes its name from the small settlement located on the western side of the Isle of Islay. Established 2005, Kilchoman is the first distillery to be built on the island in 124 years. The distillery has its own maltings and roughly 25% of barley requirements come from surrounding fields. The barley malted on site is peated to 20-25ppm and the remaining malt comes from Port Ellen Maltings and is peated up to 50ppm. Kilchoman French Inspiration No. 2 is a vatting of whiskies aged in combination of ex-bourbon barrels (75%), ex-Oloroso sherry casks (5%), and ex-Sauternes casks (20%). The whisky was bottled of natural color and without chill-filtration for the French distributor Le Maison du Whisky in April, 2022 with an outrun of 1260 bottles.
Nose: quite intense, peat smoke, honey, vanilla, apricots, orange zest, Mirabelle jam, marzipan, lemon grass, dash of white pepper, and whiffs of sea breeze.
Palate: peat smoke, dark chocolate, salted caramel, apricots, ripe grapes, cantaloupe, orange peel, lapsang souchong tea, honey, vanilla, and a touch of licorice.
Finish: fairly long, with notes of honey, vanilla, dark chocolate, orange peel, licorice, dried apricots, and peat smoke.
