Kilchoman

Second to wine my drink of choice is single malt Scottish whisky, and I was into this even before falling in love with wine.  I am particularly  fond of the whisky from the Isle of Islay.  A few weeks ago the New York Times was kind enough to taste twenty of these whiskys and publish their top ten choices. Sitting at #6 on their list was a new whisky to me, Kilchoman.  After a short search I located a bottle and picked it up a week or so before Christmas. 

Kilchoman is the newest distillery on the island by 124 years according to their website which you can find here.  It is a small, farm distillery which does the entire process from growing the grain to aging the whisky on site.  They began distilling in 2005 and began releasing whisky in 2010.   There are several whiskys listed on their website and the one I was able to find was the 2010 Winter Release.

One whiff of the whisky and it is obvious it is unmistakably an Islay.  The distinct peat and iodine aromas are there.  The smokiness is there also, though it is not as prominent as in a few of its longer established neighbors.  The taste is full of sweet grain, hints of orange and other citrus, and smoke.  There is a luxurious mouth feel to the whisky, but it is most definitely lighter than it's bigger neighbors.  The iodine and the peat sneak in on the finish.   All together this is good stuff and my search for a bottle was worth the effort.

46% alcohol (92 proof) and $60.