Taste Guide: Rum Cask
Among the countless Kilchoman bottlings from what Anthony Wills calls ‘experimental cask types’, rum cask releases are, surprisingly, among the rarest. And to this day, there has not been a single limited release from this type of cask. This is primarily because, as Anthony Wills has emphasised on several occasions at tastings and in personal conversations, he has not yet been satisfied with the maturation of Kilchoman whisky in the casks available to him. However, with rum casks purchased more recently, he hopes to eventually achieve a balanced whisky that, alongside the basic Kilchoman character, exhibits notes of banana, burnt sugar and tropical fruits in particular.
The first two Kilchoman rum cask finishes were released in September 2016 by the French Kilchoman importer and whisky shop La Maison du Whisky (LMDW) to mark its 60th anniversary. The casks no. 531/2011 and no. 754/2011 were two Caroni Rum Cask Finishes. These were not only the world’s first Kilchoman rum cask finishes, but also the first opportunity to taste the slightly lighter peated 100% Islay whisky made from the farm’s own barley in a cask type other than bourbon or sherry.
Since then, fifteen further rum cask finish releases have followed worldwide between 2017 and 2020, all peated at 50 ppm and with finishing periods of between 3 and 24 months.
The only two rum cask full-maturations released to date were launched in September 2022 by the French importer La Maison du Whisky (LMDW) and in the summer of 2026 by Weinhaus Hilgering in Dortmund.
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Kilchoman uses rum casks from a wide variety of sources and locations, so far mainly rums from Barbados and Jamaica have been represented alongside Caroni casks. The Portuguese cooperage Dias, from which Kilchoman sources a whole range of its “experimental” cask types, was also the supplier of a number of rum casks in 2017. And of course Kilchoman owes its collaboration with the well-known French spirits entrepreneur Alexandre Gabriel not only to cognac but also rum casks.
He is not only the owner of Ferrand Cognac, but also of the Plantation Rum company, whose products are particularly known for their double maturation in different types of casks. After an initial maturation in bourbon barrels on site, the Plantation rum is shipped to Château de Bonbonnet and then matured in Ferrand Cognac casks made from French oak. This gives the sweet rum additional tannin notes. This process has since been extended to include maturation in various other types of cask, including maturation in Scottish whisky casks, which is particularly well-known among whisky lovers.
Kilchoman supplied Plantation Rum with a number of its used casks, and two Plantation Rum bottlings with Kilchoman cask maturation have already appeared on the market. In return, Kilchoman received a number of Ferrand Cognac casks and rum casks.
With the products of Plantation Rum and Kilchoman, whisky lovers have the unique opportunity to taste both the original Rum matured in Kilchoman whisky casks and Kilchoman whisky matured in Plantation Rum casks.
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Rum cask bottlings from Kilchoman:
| Release | Cask No. | Cask Filled | Bottled | Maturation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroni Cask Finish for 60th Anniversary of LMDW | 531/2011 | 01.09.2011 | 05.08.2016 | Caroni Rum Cask Finish for 6 months |
| Caroni Cask Finish for 60th Anniversary of LMDW | 754/2011 | 01.12.2011 | 05.08.2016 | Caroni Rum Cask Finish for 6 months |
| Single Rum Finish Cask for The Distillery Shop | 210/2012 | 17.11.2012 | 28.08.2017 | Jamaica Rum Cask Finish for 3 months |
| Small Batch Rum Finish – Local Dealer Edition for Germany | 142 & 143/2011; 403 & 410/2012 | 17.03.2011, 05.07.2012 | 03.10.2018 | Jamaica Rum Cask Finish |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for SMCC | 415/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 15.10.2018 | Rum Cask Finish for 6 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for British Columbia | 416/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 30.10.2018 | Rum Cask Finish |
| Single Cask Rum Finish for Pot Still, Austria | 141/2011 | 17.03.2011 | 21.01.2019 | Barbados Rum Cask Finish for 9 months |
| Single Cask Rum Finish for Bresser & Timmer | 417/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 24.01.2019 | Rum Cask Finish for 9 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for Australia / Dram Full | 163/2011 | 07.04.2011 | 20.02.2019 | Jamaica Rum Cask Finish for 10 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for The Nectar Belgium | 414/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 01.03.2019 | Barbados Rum Cask Finish for 11 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for Spec´s | 213/2012 | 26.04.2012 | 07.04.2019 | Barbados Rum Cask Finish for 12 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for Whisk-e Ltd, Japan | 140/2011 | 17.03.2011 | 11.04.2019 | Jamaica Rum Cask Finish for 12 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for Shinanoya [Tokio] | 406/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 11.04.2019 | Jamaica Rum Cask Finish for 12 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for Taiwan | 164/2011 | 07.04.2011 | 03.05.2019 | Rum Cask Finish |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for The Nectar Belgium | 413/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 09.10.2019 | Barbados Rum Cask Finish for 19 months |
| Rum Finish Single Cask for SMCC | 412/2012 | 05.07.2012 | 04.12.2019 | Rum Cask Finish for 19 months |
| Rum Single Cask (Finish) (Uniquely Islay Series – An t-Earrach 2020 #3/9) | 167/2011 | 07.04.2011 | 01.05.2020 | Rum Cask Finish for 2 years |
| 6yo Rum Matured Single Cask for LMDW | 181/2016 | 09.03.2016 | 06.08.2022 | Full maturation: 6 years |
| Rum Cask Matured Single Cask by Weinhaus Hilgering | 729/2018 | 17.07.2018 | 17.03.2026 | Martinique Rum Cask, full maturation: 7 and a half years |
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