Kilchoman

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Kilchoman distillery

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

These days 25% of its barley requirements come from Islay (mostly from fields around the distillery). It has a small malting floor and kiln which produces a medium-peated malt - the heavily peated with which it is mixed comes from Port Ellen. Inside the distillery, fermentation is long - helping to create fruitiness to balance the shoreline/shellfish like phenolics, while an enlightened (and pricey) wood policy has seen a high percent of first-fill ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks being used. The result is that Kilchoman has hit the start of its mature period at a remarkably young age.

Region

Islay
Production type

Single malt

Unaged spirits
Distillery Status

Working

Kilchoman History

The location of Kilchoman on Islay’s west coast has some historical resonance. It was in this parish that the MacBeatha/Beaton family settled when they came across in 1300 from what is now Co. Antrim. They were doctors (a Beaton was the hereditary physician to the kings of Scotland for hundreds of years) who translated medical texts about distillation from Latin into Gaelic. There is therefore a theory (albeit unproven) that Islay was the first place where distillation took place in Scotland - and that Kilchoman parish was where it occurred.

It wasn’t so much this which caused Anthony Wills to build his farm distillery here in 2005 - it was more the fact that there was a spare steading at Rockside farm available. In building Kilchoman, the Wills family has brought farm distilling back to Islay.

Now surrounded by barley fields, the distillery has expanded once (in 2007) built new warehouses and in 2010 hired a hugely experienced manager in John MacLellan who had spent many years at the helm of Bunnahabhain. The history may be short, but the long-term vision is very much in evidence.

Timeline

2002 Planning begins on a new distillery at Rockside Farm on Islay
2005 Production starts at Kilchoman
2006 Fire breaks out in the kiln, forcing production to halt for a few weeks, although maltings are forced to cease for six months
2007 Two new washbacks are installed
2009 Kilchoman releases its first single malt, a 3-year-old
2010 John MacLellan joins the team as distillery manager
2011 Kilchoman 100% Islay, made using ingredients sourced from the island, is launched
2012 The distillery's first core release, Machir Bay, is launched
2013 Kilchoman Loch Gorm is introduced
2014 Kilchoman Coull Point is released as a duty free exclusive

Kilchoman Facts

Capacity (mlpa) i

0.125
Condenser Type i

Shell and tube
Fermentation Time i

70-110hrs
Filling Strength i

63.5%
Grist Weight (t) i

1.2
Heat Source i

Steam
Malt Specification i

Diageo malt 50ppm, own malt 10-25ppm
Malt Supplier i

Diageo and own maltings
Mash Tun Material i

Copper domed, stainless steel
Mash Tun Type i

Semi Lauter
New-make Strength i

69.7-70.2%
Single Malt Percentage i

100%
Spirit Still Charge (l) i

1,600
Spirit Still Shape i

Onion shape with boil ball in neck
Spirit Still Size (l) i

2,070
Stills i

2
Warehousing i

Currently at Kilchoman, Bruichladdich, Bowmore and Port Ellen. Mostly dunnage
Wash Still Charge (l) i

3,000
Wash Still Shape i

Classic Onion
Wash Still Size (l) i

3,230
Washback Charge (l) i

6,000
Washback Size (l) i

8,000
Washback Type i

Stainless steel
Washbacks i

4
Water Source i

Surface water collected in small dam close to distillery
Wort Clarity i

Good
Yeast Type i

Mauri