Islay Region – 58.3% ABV – £79 (£66 ex. VAT, $106 for those of us in the US of A)

Here we have a Kilchoman distilled in 2009 that spent 4.5yrs in first fill bourbon then 4mos in a PX sherry cask.  Bottled at full cask strength, this cask rendered a total of only 270 bottles, all of which were bottled at 58.3% ABV.

Let the intro be short and the review come soon and the whisky be wonderfully delicious!

My wish is my command.

On the nose –  What a lovely little mixture of peat smoked, chipotle infused eraser rubbings!  Drizzlings of smoked Molé sauce over grilled cayenne peppers and burnt Douglas fur needles.

It’s like Christmas is burning in Mexico, in a glass!  This is a Kilchoman for Cinco de Mayo.

On the mouth – This is absolutely wild whisky. The peat-meets-sherry reminds me a bit of the Lost Spirits Leviathan (albeit a more tame version).  Lots of horse butt and damp farm barns here.

Incredibly sweet but thankfully not as forceful as most PX matured whisky (perhaps this is the difference between fully matured in PX and finished in PX?).

Salted licorice.  Actually, this is quite salty and anise-y.

Some of those savory pepper notes I got on the nose help to take me to the finish which is…

Finish – Quite long and drying with growing salt and peppery notes along the side of the tongue.

In sum – A not-very-Kilchoman-y Kilchoman but a wonderful experience nonetheless.  So good, in fact, I bought a bottle after receiving and reviewing this sample.  If you enjoy big and brash Islay whiskies, this’ll be up your alley.  Defo one to share with friends.  It’s a “Hey, you’ve got to get your tastes buds on this crazy-mo-fo!” sort of whisky.

Special thanks to one of the Sharpest guys in Scotland, Mike Sharples, for the sample!