German Tasting Tour with Anthony Wills from 22 to 26 October 2012 – a review
Following the hugely successful tasting tours of 2010 and 2011, the German Kilchoman importer Alba Import had once again organised a German Tasting Tour for 2012, featuring Kilchoman’s founder Anthony Wills. The tour once again visited five German cities, but this time in the south of the country.
These were the stops on the tour:
- 22 October 2012: Whisky & Dreams, Eppertshausen
- 23 October 2012: Piccadilly English Shop, Stuttgart
- 24 October 2012: Destille FFB, Fürstenfeldbruck
- 25 October 2012: Humidor Landshut, Landshut
- 26 October 2012: Whisk(e)y Shop tara, München
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There was a whole range of very interesting Kilchoman whiskies to sample:
- Kilchoman New Make
- Machir Bay 2012 Release
- 100% Islay 2nd Edition
- Vintage 2006 Release
- Cask sample Madeira cask (over 3 years old)
- Oloroso Sherry Cask Matured (nearly 6 years old)
- Small Batch Bottling for Germany – Bourbon Casks
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The New Make once again caused quite a stir with its fruitiness; with the second 100% Islay Release, the Machir Bay and the Vintage 2006 releases, Anthony was able to present the distillery’s latest original bottlings. As in 2010, Anthony Wills also brought along a sample from a Madeira wine cask to showcase Kilchoman’s experimental side. At over three years old, this sample was significantly older than the one presented in 2010, which was just over seven months old.
During the break, the tasting participants also had the unique opportunity to take a so-called ‘flight’ through the distillation of Kilchoman spirit. This meant that, starting with the low wines (the product of the first distillation run), followed by the foreshots, three samples of the middlecut taken at different stages, and finally the feints, participants were able to trace the development of the distillate throughout the entire distillation process.
During the tasting tour, Alba Import once again presented a special Kilchoman release; this time, not a single-cask bottling, but the first Small Batch Bottling for Germany. Incidentally, the Oloroso sherry cask whisky mentioned above was the single-cask bottling that Alba Import had commissioned exclusively for the 13th Cöpenicker Whiskherbst.
As in the past two years, we can only conclude that this has been an extremely successful series of events! In addition to the opportunity to taste the latest releases and cask samples, participants were treated to something truly special, particularly with the ‘Flight’. We look forward to more events of this kind in the coming years!
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Here are a few impressions; the photos were once again provided to us by Alba Import:
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