New Release: KILCHOMAN 2008 7 Year Old Official Feis Ile 2015 #245,449&450/2008

Finally, a fully matured KILCHOMAN that can be evaluated without any reservations has come out. KILCHOMAN 2008-2015 7yo OB FEIS ILE 2015 #245,449&450/2008 58.2% One of 742 bottles, Fresh Bourbon Cask The aroma features citrus and green apple, faint peach, custard cream, fresh young leaves, a youthful grain note, seaweed-like mineral notes reminiscent of kelp, smoky and strong peat. Upon drinking, it lacks harshness and offers a gradual stimulation with citrus, grapefruit, green apple, sweet and sour notes of fresh fruits, a pleasant matured grain character, and a slightly sharp yet solid peat. The aftertaste leaves behind both fruits and peat. [Good/Very Good, Interesting] This bottling was released for this year's Feis Ile, and it is a vatting of three casks of KILCHOMAN 2008, aged for seven years. At first impression of the aroma, I was a bit surprised. Until now, I had often perceived an immature scent from KILCHOMAN unless it was aged in very strong sherry casks. However, this one lacks that immature scent and instead offers a fresh citrusy, green apple aroma with creamy nuances, which suggests it was aged in a good bourbon cask. Certainly, the grain character is still youthful, but rather than an immature grassy note, it has a refreshing glassy quality like young leaves. There are also seaweed-like mineral notes reminiscent of kelp and a strong peat typical of Islay malts. When drinking, the aroma is similarly diverse with fresh fruits taking center stage, and a pleasant balance of sweetness and acidity can be felt. The grain character is also more refined than the aroma, with both peat and fruits lingering in the aftertaste. Overall, there is no obvious sign of immaturity, nor does it seem masked by artificial cask aromas. The natural aroma was impressive, and I strongly felt that this whisky has naturally matured to reach such a flavor. Moreover, it's interesting that instead of using the longest aged spirit from around 2005 distillation (about ten years old), this is a seven-year-old spirit from 2008 distillation. This suggests that it's not just the aging period, but also a result of thoughtful craftsmanship based on overall experience. Until now, I had approached KILCHOMAN with a mindset like 'for a KILCHOMAN...' or 'it's only young spirit, so it's unavoidable,' but I'm very happy that a bottle has finally come out that allows me to drink and evaluate it normally without such considerations. Immediately after drinking this KILCHOMAN, I recalled the Bowmore 1999, six-year-old bottling for Feis Ile 2006. Interestingly enough, that Bowmore was also a vatting of three fresh bourbon casks! As previously mentioned in an article, I strongly recognized that this bottle brought back a fruity and delicious Bowmore reminiscent of 1990s distillations. After that, there were also releases like the excellent CP Tempest Batch 1 or 1993, and on average, many bottles that met expectations have come out. However, since production volumes differ between Bowmore and KILCHOMAN, it's a concern whether these delicious bottles can be readily available. Nonetheless, I thought that similarly to this KILCHOMAN, in the coming years such bottles might become commonplace.