Kilchoman distillery

Kilchoman Distillery is a distillery that produces Scotch whisky. It is located on the western side of Islay, a Scottish island known for its whisky production. Kilchoman is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland and is one of only a few distilleries in Scotland to remain independent.

History

Kilchoman Distillery was established in 2005, making it the first new distillery to be built on Islay in over 124 years. The distillery was founded by Anthony Wills, who wanted to revive the lost art of farm distilling. The distillery is unique in that it is one of the few whisky distilleries in Scotland that grows its own barley, uses traditional floor malting, and completes all parts of the whisky-making process, from barley to bottle, on site.

Production

Kilchoman Distillery produces a range of single malt whiskies using traditional methods. The distillery grows two varieties of barley, Optic and Publican, which are malted in a traditional floor malting. The malted barley is then mashed and fermented before being distilled in copper pot stills. The whisky is then matured in a variety of cask types, including bourbon barrels from the USA and sherry casks from Spain.

The distillery produces three core expressions: Machir Bay, Sanaig, and Loch Gorm. Machir Bay is a vatting of whisky matured in both bourbon and sherry casks, while Sanaig has a higher proportion of sherry cask-matured whisky. Loch Gorm is matured exclusively in sherry casks.

Visitor Centre

The Kilchoman Distillery also has a visitor centre, which offers guided tours of the distillery and tastings of its whiskies. The visitor centre also has a shop where visitors can purchase Kilchoman's whiskies and other merchandise.

See Also

• Scotch whisky
• Islay whisky
• Distillation
• Malt