Timeline 2015
In 2015, the Kilchoman Distillery celebrated its 10th anniversary — its first major milestone. To mark the occasion, a special 10th Anniversary Release was launched, the anniversary was celebrated in style at the Islay Festival Fèis Ìle, and two major promotional tours were organised, one across continental Europe and one across the UK.
Among the new bottlings of the year were many that were to shape the distillery’s portfolio in the years to come. The Machir Bay was released from April of that year as a General Release with no year specification, whilst the Sanaig, which was to become the second General Release from 2016 onwards, was already available in a few selected markets. Alongside the Machir Bay, the other two so-called “Core Range Whiskies”, Loch Gorm and 100% Islay, were released in their 2015 versions and were both extremely successful. All three Core Range whiskies were awarded highly prestigious prizes on several occasions throughout the year. Following the Port Cask Matured release of 2014, a Madeira Cask Matured release established a series of regularly appearing wine cask-matured whiskies, whilst the Vintage 2008 release continued the series of vintage whiskies released every two years. The Kilchoman Bramble Liqueur, which has been available at the Visitor Centre since 2008, has now been released to the general public in a newly designed bottle.
Of crucial importance for the distillery’s future was the fact that, with effect from November 2015, it was able to purchase Rockside Farm from its former owner, Mark French. In future, not only would the distillery have the entire barley harvest from Rockside Farm at its disposal, but it would also be able to construct new buildings, particularly warehouses. Previously, production had taken place in leased premises; Mark French, whose relationship with the distillery had, unfortunately, deteriorated significantly over the years, had not permitted the construction of new buildings, meaning that a new warehouse had to be built in Conisby, on the other side of the Rhinns, in 2013. Furthermore, Mark French did not sell more than the originally agreed quantity of just 100 tonnes of barley per year to Kilchoman, preferring instead to sell it to Bruichladdich.
In December 2015, Kilchoman held an auction of a bottle from the first cask filled at Kilchoman (1/2005). The fact that ‘The Beatson Cancer Charity’ was chosen as the beneficiary of this auction was, sadly, for a sombre reason: to express gratitude for the care provided to distillery manager John MacLellan, who was suffering from prostate cancer.
At the end of 2015, the distillery was proud to announce that 165,000 bottles of Kilchoman had been sold over the course of the year. As was the case for the first time in 2014, just over 1,000 casks were filled with new make spirit.
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23 March: Loch Gorm released
On 23 March 2015 the third annual release of Loch Gorm was available in the Kilchoman online shop for the first time. Bottled from casks filled in 2009 and 2010, it was only slightly older than the 2014 version, namely a little over 5 years, the main difference was the use of Oloroso sherry hogsheads to mature a portion of the whisky rather than just sherry butts. According to Anthony Wills, these smaller casks gave Loch Gorm an increased sherry influence.
Kilchoman founder Anthony Wills said: “As well as this year’s release being slightly older, we decided to increase the ratio of single malt matured in smaller sherry hogsheads versus that matured in larger sherry butts. This increases the influence from the sherry casks and gives the whisky a striking intensity and richness. That said, the whisky retains the balance and complexity Kilchoman releases are well-known for.”
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April: Machir Bay now available without year specification
The new Machir Bay was launched in mid-April 2015. The Kilchoman standard bottling now appeared without year specification. Named after the famous bay situated not far from the distillery, with one of Islay’s most beautiful sandy beaches, the batch-bottled releases was labelled with the year of bottling from 2012 to 2014. During this period, the age of the whiskies contained in the bottle increased from year to year.
This practice has now been discontinued, primarily due to still-limited cask stocks. The age of the whiskies contained has been frozen at approximately 3–5 years until further notice, and a 10 % proportion of Oloroso sherry casks is now specified. The bottling date and batch number can be identified from the bottle code.
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April: New limited edition for selected markets: Sanaig
In April 2015, Kilchoman launched Sanaig, a new limited edition named after Sanaigmore, a rocky inlet near the distillery, which was initially only distributed in Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands. As with the Machir Bay, this is a vatting of bourbon and sherry casks, bottled in batches without an age statement; however, the Sanaig has a significantly higher proportion of sherry casks compared to the Machir Bay.
From 2016 onwards, Kilchoman made the Sanaig – with a revised recipe – its second general release after the Machir Bay, i.e. a release available worldwide on a permanent basis.
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4 May: 100% Islay 5th Edition released
On 4 May 2015 the 5th edition of the annual 100% Islay series was released. It was a vatting of fresh and refill bourbon barrels that were filled in 2009 and 2010 and thus slightly older than the previous year’s bottling.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director wrote: »There is a clear difference between the 100% Islay range and other releases, the lighter peating level and maturation exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels gives the whisky a beautiful fragrance and balance.
When we first set out to build Kilchoman the ambition was to produce a single malt from barley grown on the distillery farm to give complete control and traceability, we also wanted to echo how whisky was once made on Islay and across Scotland. We are incredibly proud to continue these traditional practices.
We expect that followers of Kilchoman will enjoy this latest Edition of the 100% Islay, the added maturation time compared to previous releases has given the whisky added depth and balance, we expect it to be a hit.«
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23 May: 10th Anniversary Release
To mark the 10th anniversary of the distillery, Kilchoman released a special bottling. It was a vatting of sherry and bourbon casks filled between 2005 and 2012 and even included a percentage of whisky from Cask No. 1/2005, the first cask ever filled at Kilchoman. The limited edition was just 3,000 hand numbered bottles at cask strength. It was sold only at the Distillery Shop at a price of £88.80.
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25 – 28 May: Fèis Ìle 2015
During Fèis Ìle 2015, Kilchoman once again presented a comprehensive programme to festival visitors: Manager Tours with Anthony Wills, Warehouse Masterclass at the Conisby Warehouse, 10th Anniversary Masterclass, Club Members’ Masterclass, “Be a Bottler” – where you can bottle your own bottle of Machir Bay, Still House Visits, Tutored Range Tastings and much more. Live music was provided by the famous Scottish band Skipinnish and the Trail West & Islay Pipe Band. The “Fèis Ìle Release” of 2015 (sold on Kilchoman Open Day, May 28th) is a nearly 7 year old vatting of three 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrels.
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June: Machir Bay named Best Islay Single Malt under 12 years old
At the “Scotch Whisky Masters 2015” organised by “The Spirits Business”, Machir Bay was awarded Master in the “Islay single malt under 12 years old” category in early June 2015. Gold medals were also awarded to Loch Gorm 2015 and 100% Islay 5th Edition, meaning Kilchoman’s core range secured a full set of medals.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder and Managing Director wrote: “It is a fantastic achievement for Kilchoman to go up against such tough competition and come out on top. It is testament to all the daily hard work done by the distillery team.”
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June: Kilchoman Bramble Liqueur goes on general sale
In mid-2015, Kilchoman decided to release the Kilchoman New Spirit Bramble Liqueur – which had been available exclusively at the distillery’s Visitor Centre since 2008 – to the general public in a newly designed bottle. Made from fresh blackberries macerated in Kilchoman New Make and honey, it offers an unusual taste experience with strong peaty smoke and fruity sweetness. Particularly well suited for drinking neat, on the rocks, in cocktails and to add a twist to a vanilla ice cream sundae.
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23 June: Kilchoman buys Rockside Farm.
On 23 June 2015 the Kilchoman Distillery Company Limited announced that they have agreed to buy Rockside Farm where the distillery is located on the Isle of Islay from the current owners. After running the farm for 30 years, Mark and Rohaise French decided to sell the farm to Anthony Wills to devote more time to their four grown children and their families. The handover is scheduled for November 2015.
As described in more detail in the introduction above, this was an event of extraordinary significance for the future development of the Kilchoman Distillery.
Anthony Wills, Managing Director of Kilchoman Distillery commented: “We have always been proud to produce whisky from barley to bottle and the purchase of Rockside Farm secures this vision for the future”.
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August: Kilchoman successful at the ISWC Awards
At the annual “International Wine and Spirits Competition”, Kilchoman enjoyed another highly successful year in 2015. Having already been honoured in June at the ‘Scotch Whisky Masters 2015’, all three whiskies from Kilchoman’s core range went on to win the coveted ‘ISWC Awards’: Machir Bay won a gold medal, Loch Gorm 2015 a silver medal – Outstanding, and the 5th Edition of 100% Islay a silver medal.
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1 September – 11 October: 10th Anniversary Tour
On the occasion of the distillery’s tenth anniversary, Kilchoman started a roadshow again, just like 2014. George, James and Peter Wills, the sons of founder and managing director Anthony Wills, toured Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden in a Kilchoman Land Rover for six weeks in September and October. They presented the entire whisky range of the distillery, besides the established bottlings Machir Bay, Sanaig, Loch Gorm and 100% Islay, also the new limited releases Vintage 2008 and Madeira Cask Matured Release. The tour bottling exclusively available on the tour was again a Machir Bay at cask strength – edition: 1,500 bottles.
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7 September: Vintage 2008 released
Just in time for the Kilchoman 10th Anniversary Tour, the Vintage 2008 Release was launched on 7 September 2015; at seven years old, it was the distillery’s oldest release to date.
It was a blend from 1st Fill ex-bourbon barrels, which were filled in July 2008 and bottled in September 2015. Following the Vintage 2006 in 2011 and the Vintage 2007 in 2013, Kilchoman has thus continued its range of vintage whiskies, which are released every two years.
Kilchoman founder and managing director Anthony Wills wrote: “The 2008 Vintage is a classic bourbon barrel aged Kilchoman however the additional maturation has added layers of soft fruit and sweetness not seen in previous releases. This latest vintage release makes me very excited about the future development of Kilchoman single malt.”
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5 October: Madeira Cask Matured Edition released
Following the launch of a Madeira cask matured Small Batch Release in 2014 as the 3rd Club Release, a larger edition of this cask type was presented for the first time on 5 October 2015. Seventeen ex-Madeira casks, filled in 2011, were selected for this release, yielding 6,100 bottles at 50% ABV. The Madeira Cask Release followed on from the Port Cask Release of 2014 and was a further example of full maturation in casks that are usually only used for finishing by other distilleries.
Anthony Wills wrote: “This release is a break from the norm for us, it represents a bit of an experiment with full maturation rather than simply finishing whisky in casks like Madeira. Full maturation means that the impact of the cask is that much greater, the challenge is to ensure the whisky remains balanced and the influence of the Madeira cask is integrated with that of the Kilchoman spirit.“
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November: UK Land Rover Tour 2015.
Just like 2014, the Kilchoman marketing tour by George, James and Peter Wills through continental Europe in September was followed by a Land Rover tour by George Wills, the oldest of the three sons of Anthony Wills, through Great Britain in November. He presented the Kilchoman range in numerous whisky shops and organised tastings. An exclusive bottling – a Machir Bay at cask strength – was bottled again for the tour.
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16 November: 4th Release for The Kilchoman Club
Following the launch of the first Kilchoman matured in Madeira casks in 2014 with the 3rd Club Release, Kilchoman Club members were able to purchase Kilchoman’s first Sauternes cask release online on 16 November 2015 as the 2015 Club Release for £75.
Three fresh Sauternes casks, filled in November 2010, December 2010 and January 2011, were selected for this Small Batch release. The bottling, at 60 % cask strength, took place on 9 November 2015 and yielded 909 bottles.
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December 2015: Auction of the first bottle of a 10-year-old Kilchoman
In December 2015, Kilchoman organised an auction of a bottle from the first cask filled at Kilchoman (1/2005) in aid of ‘The Beatson Cancer Charity’. Anthony Wills bottled it by hand on 14 December 2015 – exactly 10 years after distillation. Bids could be placed on the distillery’s website from 7 to 14 December. ‘The Beatson Cancer Charity’ was chosen as the beneficiary in gratitude for the care provided to distillery manager John MacLellan, who was suffering from prostate cancer.
The bottle was auctioned for £7,000; Kilchoman rounded the total raised up to £10,000, and so James Wills and Rosie MacLellan were able to present a cheque for this amount during a visit to ‘Beatson’ in March 2016.
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