Kilchoman Portuguese Brandy Cask Finish 932/2016 selected by Shake the Farm Winner – Alex Holmes

Cask No.: 932/2016

Cask type: Bourbon Barrel, Portuguese Brandy Cask Finish

Date Filled: 19.10.2016

Date Decanted: 30.7.2023

Date Bottled: 20.10.2024

Age: 8 yo

Finishing period: nearly 15 months

Strength: 56,6 % abv

Level of Phenols in malted barley: 50 ppm

Bottle volume: 0,7 l

Number of bottles: 224

Market: UK

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In 2024, the Kilchoman distillery held the first ‘Shake the Farm’ cocktail competition. The task for the participants was to create a cocktail based on the new Kilchoman Batch Strength Release, which should also contain at least one farmed or foraged british ingredient.

After heats in Edinburgh, Manchester and London, the winners of each heat were invited to the final on Islay. There they not only had to present their cocktail creations to a three-person jury, but they were also able to learn everything about how the whisky is made during their two days at Kilchoman.

The winner of the final was Alex Holmes with his cocktail ‘The Play Barn’, a delicious combination of Blackberry leaf liqueur, hay soda and the Batch Strength Release, garnished with a Blackberry leaf and a fruit lollipop.

The prize for the winner was to select a cask of Kilchoman, that will be bottled exclusively for UK bars and restaurants, and keep 6 bottles. Robin Bignal, Production Director, took the three preliminary winners to the warehouse, where they could taste different casks and select their favourite.

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Alex Holmes chose cask 932/2016, a Portuguese Brandy Cask Finish, which was then bottled for the British market at the end of October 2024.

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