Timeline 2010
After Kilchoman released its first whiskies in 2009, three further so-called ‘limited editions’ were released in 2010 at roughly quarterly intervals. Named after the season in which they were released, the name »Seasonal Releases« soon became established for this series. In addition, Kilchoman increasingly released single-cask bottlings, often to mark special occasions such as whisky fairs, tasting tours, etc.
To raise awareness of the new distillery and its bottlings, Kilchoman’s founder, Anthony Wills, in particular, embarked on numerous tasting tours and attended whisky fairs. He travelled to export markets including Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Sweden, the USA, Switzerland and the Benelux countries. By the end of the year, the number of markets in which Kilchoman was sold had grown to 22 countries.
Important personnel decisions shape the year. The company secures one of the most distinguished experts as its new manager in the form of former Bunnahabhain manager John MacLellan, whilst Tony Rozga – also formerly of Bunnahabhain – and Robin Bignal, who will succeed John MacLellan as manager years later, strengthen the production team.
By the end of 2010, the distillery had produced approximately 100,000 litres of pure alcohol and sold 50,000 bottles of Kilchoman whisky.
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4 March: John MacLellan appointed new Kilchoman manager
On 4 March 2010, Kilchoman announced that John MacLellan, who has been manager of the Bunnahabhain distillery for 12 years, will be joining Kilchoman as its new general manager. He will take up his new post on 3 May; in addition to managing day-to-day operations, he will also be responsible for cask selection in future.
The outgoing manager, Malcolm Rennie, is moving to the newly established Lowland distillery, Annandale, in the middle of the year.
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April: Spring 2010 Release is launched
The Spring 2010 Release, the third edition of the Kilchoman Limited Releases, is launched in April 2010. It was initially matured for three years in fresh ex-bourbon barrels and then finished for three months in ‘very active’ Oloroso sherry butts. Four refill bourbon barrels, which had not been finished, were also added to the vatting.
As with the previous two releases, the contents of each cask were first married on Islay and reduced to 46% drink strength before being shipped to the Houston Bottling Company in Dumbarton, where bottling took place. The number of bottles was not specified this time.
It is being distributed in 19 countries worldwide – meaning the number of Kilchoman markets is steadily increasing; they now include: the UK, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Taiwan.
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24 – 25 April: “Whisky Fair 2010” in Limburg
On 24 and 25 April 2010, the “Whisky Fair” took place once again in Limburg an der Lahn. The Kilchoman Distillery was among the more than 90 exhibitors. Anthony Wills led two masterclasses, which were quickly fully booked, during which he presented, amongst other whiskies, the Spring 2010 Release and a sample from an Oloroso sherry cask.
The fair also saw the launch of the first Kilchoman single cask bottling for Germany, a bourbon cask-matured whisky aged just over three years. The 90 bottles brought along by the German Kilchoman importer Alba Import had already sold out by Saturday.
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April: further construction work completed
At the end of April, a number of further construction projects at the distillery were completed: new office space was created, and the old barley store was converted into a tasting room and a meeting room.
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27 May: first Fèis Ìle Release launched
At the Kilchoman Open Day during the Islay Festival Fèis Ìle 2010, the distillery released its first-ever Fèis Ìle bottling. This is a Single Cask Release from Bourbon Barrel 113/2007, distilled on 22 May 2007 and bottled on 22 May 2010. The whisky is therefore exactly three years old. Some visitors queued for several hours to get their hands on one of the 258 bottles.
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26 July: Tony Rozga appointed as new mashman/stillman
On 26 July 2010, Tony Rozga, who had previously worked at the Bunnahabhain distillery for several years, was hired as a mashman / stillman. Together with Gavin Douglas, he now forms the production team.
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9 August: Summer 2010 Release launched
On 9 August 2010, the Summer 2010 Release – the fourth edition of the so-called ‘Seasonal Releases’ – was launched. This was the first release to be exported to the USA and the first without sherry finishing. It was a three-year-old whisky that had been matured in fresh and refill bourbon barrels.
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18 August: Robin Bignal appointed as a new member of the production team
On 18 August 2010, Kilchoman announced on its website that, due to rising demand for Kilchoman whisky, it had decided to expand production over the winter months (when water is available in abundance). For this reason, Robin Bignal has been hired as a third member of the production team. He will – initially on a part-time basis – assist Gavin Douglas and Tony Rozga.
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19 August: Delivery of Quarter Casks
On 19 August 2010, a consignment of 132 Quarter Casks (sometimes incorrectly referred to by Kilchoman as Octave Casks) arrived at the distillery. These casks, with a volume of approximately 100 litres, were crafted in a cooperage from the staves of former refill bourbon barrels. Quarter casks are often used by some distilleries for finishing, as the cask’s significantly larger internal surface area in relation to its volume results in more intense contact between the maturing distillate and the wood.
Kilchoman filled the casks with New Make in October; 95 of them will form the Original Cask Strength Quarter Cask Release in 2016.
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13 – 17 September: German Tasting Tour 2010
As part of a tasting tour organised by Kilchoman’s German importer, Alba Import, Kilchoman’s founder Anthony Wills travalled to five German cities (Hamburg, Bremen, Mainz, Darmstadt and Lüdenscheid) between 13 and 17 September. During the tour, he introduced the distillery and spoke about his plans for the future.
He brought with him five extremely interesting Kilchoman whiskies for tasting: three samples and two already bottled whiskies:
- Kilchoman New Make sample
- Kilchoman Summer 2010 Release
- Madeira cask sample (7 months old)
- Pre-release sample: Bourbon cask-matured, 100% Islay
- German Tasting Tour release – Oloroso sherry
The New Make caused quite a stir with its fruitiness, whilst the 100% Islay pre-release sample was the favourite among most participants. With the sample – aged a good seven months – from one of the few Madeira casks that Kilchoman had filled in February 2010 as an experiment, it showcased Kilchoman whisky from a completely different angle, beyond Bourbon and Sherry cask maturation.
For the tasting tour, Alba Import had commissioned the bottling of an exclusive Kilchoman single cask – a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt just under four years old. This was only the second Kilchoman single cask release for Germany.
Here are a few impressions from the extremely successful series of events; the photos were provided to us by Alba Import:
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29 – 30 October 2010: The Whisky Show in London
Organised by the renowned British whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange, The Whisky Show took place for the second time. In keeping with the event’s ‘de luxe’ concept (an entry fee of £90, free samples of the whiskies on display, complimentary food, etc.), a selection of particularly rare and exclusive whiskies was once again presented at The Brewery in London. Kilchoman presented an exclusive fair bottling: a three-year-old whisky matured in a fresh ex-bourbon barrel, which attracted a great deal of interest from many visitors to the fair.
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November: US promotional tour
Following numerous tastings and promotional tours in European and Asian countries, Anthony Wills set off in November on his first short promotional tour to the USA, a new export market for Kilchoman. Alongside the Summer 2010 Release – the first Kilchoman whiskies to be exported to the US – he also presented the first two single cask releases bottled specifically for the US.
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15 November: Winter 2010 Release launched
The Winter 2010 Release, the fifth edition in the quarterly bottling series, will be released on 15 November 2010. As with the Summer Release, it is is a three-year-old whisky that has been matured in fresh and refill bourbon casks. The batch consists of 15,850 bottles.
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2–5 December: Whiskyschiff Zürich 2010
Although snowstorms across Europe prevented some exhibitors from travelling to the event, the well-known Swiss whisky fair Whiskyschiff Zürich 2010 took place as planned from 2 to 5 December. Visitors were able to taste a wide selection of whiskies on board several passenger ships. As the official fair bottling, the Swiss importer World of Whisky presented a Kilchoman single cask bottling. This was a Kilchoman that had been matured for three years in a fresh bourbon barrel.
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