Collection “The Anthologists” by LMDW with two new Kilchoman Releases
For many years now, the French spirits retailer and Kilchoman importer La Maison Du Whisky has been publishing a printed catalogue in the autumn, featuring exclusive LMDW bottlings of whisky, rum and other spirits for the coming year, in both French and English. For the anniversary year 2027, when LMDW will celebrate its 70th birthday, the new catalogue has now been published online as a PDF file, and the first bottlings can already be ordered online.
Among the more than 190 bottlings featured in this year’s catalogue, titled Creations 2027: The Anthologists or Les Anthologistes, are two new exclusive Kilchoman single-cask bottlings. The first is a 10-year-old whisky that has been fully matured in a Caroni rum cask, with which LMDW takes its exclusive Caroni rum cask bottlings to a new high – at least in terms of age. LMDW’s very first Caroni rum cask finishings – and, at the same time, the first Kilchoman bottlings from rum casks – were released exactly 10 years ago to mark the 60th anniversary of the whisky merchant and importer. At the time, these featured rum cask finishing periods of just 6 months, so in a sense the circle is now complete, and the taste comparison should prove very intriguing.
The second Kilchoman bottling in the catalogue is a 15-year-old Calvados Cask Finish. With ten and a half years’ maturation in a bourbon barrel and four and a half years’ finishing in a Calvados cask, it is one of the longest Calvados cask finishes from Kilchoman, and this lends itself to a comparison with the Fèis Ìle 2026 Release – also aged 15 years – which has a Calvados cask finishing period of 5 years.
Last year, LMDW highlighted some of Islay’s lesser-known sights with specially designed labels that differed significantly from the usual Kilchoman design. This trend continues this year, though the focus is now more consistently on landmarks from the casks’ regions of origin: ‘Las Cuevas Beach, Trinidad’ for the Caroni rum cask bottling and ‘The cliffs of Étretat, Normandy’ for the Calvados finish.
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Thierry Bénitah, the CEO of La Maison du Whisky, emphasises in the foreword that the ‘Créations 2027’ collection was originally intended to be titled ‘Anthology’, but this was ultimately changed to ‘The Anthologists’. This decision stemmed from a desire to place the creators of the spirits centre stage: whilst an anthology brings together various works, it is the anthologists who select them and provide context. It is precisely this approach that has driven La Maison du Whisky for over seventy years: revealing remarkable expressions, honouring true craftsmanship and sharing the heritage of long-standing partners.
Due to the lead time involved in printing the labels by the various distilleries, not only the two Kilchoman releases but also almost all other bottlings bear the subtitle “Collection Anthology” on the label rather than “Collection The Anthologists”.
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Kilchoman 10 yo Caroni Rum Single Cask 16/182 (Collection Anthology, Part 1 of 2)
Cask No.: 182/2016
Cask type: Caroni Rum Cask
Date Filled: 9.3.2016
Date Bottled: 23.6.2026
Age: 10 yo
Strength: 54,9 % abv
Level of phenols in malted barley: 50 ppm
Bottle volume: 0,7 l
Number of bottles: 242
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Kilchoman 15 yo Calvados Finish Single Cask 11/131 (Collection Anthology, Part 2 of 2)
Cask No.: 131/2011
Cask type: Bourbon Barrel, Calvados Cask Finish
Date Filled: 17.3.2011
Date Bottled: 23.6.2026
Age: 15 yo
Strength: 51,1 % abv
Level of phenols in malted barley: 50 ppm
Bottle volume: 0,7 l
Number of bottles: 243
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