Kilchoman, Islay, Scotland, May 2025

Kilchoman is also a little off the beaten path - we took the bus and shuttled up to the distillery. It's the newest distillery and my second favorite, due to the red wine cask bottling that both Erik and Root had gotten for me for my 50th birthday. We learned that American oak extracts peat better; sherry casks are bigger than bourbon casks. Sherry makes the whiskey dark.

We learned all about the guy that started Kilchoman as an "all-Islay" brand and how his kids let the peat malting burn up the building during the World Cup.

We toured the facilities and then had a large private room for our tasting.

Impromptu dueling at the tasting table:

We had a fino cask (dry sherry) that was 5-6 years old, 50 ppm, 50% alc, dry, oily mouthfeel with a golden color, slightly sweet:

We did like the Loch Gorm. This is 10 years old, in Oloroso sherry butts, 46% alc, 50 ppm, with a deep gold color. It was rich and chewy. Yum!

This was a 5 year old port cask matured, 50% alc. It was golden but thinner. I believe they tarred this cask:

There was also a distillery exclusive 7 year old bourbon cask, 57.5% alc. It was sweet, thin, not very peaty. Not my thing.

Kilchoman has THE MOST AMAZING TASTING MENU! All you have to do is show up and they will give you as much free Sanaig and Machir Bay as you want:

We were able to taste, but NOT buy the red wine cask liquor of the gods:

We managed to eke out lunch there - sandwiches and bread for thoroughly happy people:

Bunnahabain, Islay, Scotland, May 2025

Roger's car couldn't fit all of us, so Leo went for a bike ride and Hal and Julie went to Lagavulin and the rest of us piled in for the drive from the SW to the NE part of the island. From Bunnahabain, you can see the Isle of Jura. 

We sat in the cold caskroom for the tasting. The Oloroso was made from water from the Margedail River. It had been in 2 other Oloroso casks prior. The Canasta was in Oloroso then in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The cream sherry (cask 0201-556) was in Oloroso. The 2017 was red-wine casked. I bought some of this to take home.

There's always crazy shit that you can't even dream of buying:

Ardbeg, Islay, Scotland, May 2025

 Ardbeg is one of my two favorite distilleries. It's on the bike path from Port Ellen, on the ocean. We had a fantastic lunch there before the tour.

We saw the old stills and the new stills.

I've forgotten what these "X"es were about. Keeping the still going a wee bit longer:

Lots of fun past bottlings:

Our tasting included the 19 year 50% alc. Traigh Bhan which was my favorite of the four:

And the smoky Homecoming. Everyone else really liked this. I thought it was too sweet. We also had the Smoketrails and the Cote Rotie (red wine) cask, 46% alc, from 2023. I'm a sucker for a red wine cask.

Islay, Scotland - May 2025

 Leo and I flew to Scotland, eating "filet Americain" (beef tartare from the Dutch grocery store at the Amsterdam airport), to Root's 60th birthday boondoggle, where we met up with Root, Roger, Erik, Hal and Julie, David, Nathan, and Jon and Heather. 

We had a great time tooling around Islay and tasting scotch. They were on a 2-3 week holiday and Leo and I had a week to join the party. Islay is the island near Glasgow that is famous for its peated whiskey. We arrived midweek and so missed the Bruichladdich day when Erik tasted his 19 year old(?) cask. He bought it when his son was born. Apparently the Bruichladdich folks went kind of nuts, serving them plenty of Octomore and other goodies from the caskroom. 

Hal filling his glass with the copper dog:

We also missed Laphroaig and Lagavulin day but got to enjoy some of the extra tastings that they bought. 

Hal found his plot of land - every bottle of Laphroaig comes with a coupon for a free square foot plot of land!

Leo and I stayed at a B&B in Port Ellen because Calumkill wasn't big enough. The Grange was lovely. Third pic is view of ocean from our room.

Leo had haggis and blood sausage. Every morning. 

We rented bikes to get from Port Ellen to the party house >3 miles away. It turns out that bikes in the UK have their brakes set up backwards! There's a nice walking/biking path to Laphroaig/Lagavulin/Ardbeg from Port Ellen but beyond that (and even on some parts of the broken bike path), you are on a narrow road with cars.

Tons of sheep.

The trip wasn't all about scotch. We explored a bit:

Leo and I saw the parade that precedes the Feis Ile festival. Bagpipes and more bagpipes! The flight out was canceled due to the clouds so we ended up waiting a while and then getting on a ferry and then into a bunch of taxis over to Glasgow.