The family-owned farm distillery of Kilchoman has released its 2025 Loch Gorm bottling. The annually released whisky, which is named after the freshwater lake located next to the distillery, is always matured in ex-sherry casks. The Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2025 Edition is the first ever 10 Years Old expression to be released in the range. The batch features just 23 ex-Oloroso sherry butts. These include 20 first-fill and three re-fill.
Kilchoman is one of Scotland’s single malt craft distilling pioneers and is named after the local church parish. It is located on Rockside Farm on the remote west coast of the island of Islay. The first cask was filled on December 14th 2005, with the first single malt released in November 2009.
Kilchoman is independently owned by the Wills family and now has a production capacity of just over 650,000 litres a year. This follows a number of recent ambitious expansions of the facilities. It is one of the few distilleries in Scotland to grow some of their own barley. They also have a traditional floor malting in operation, which is another rarity in the Scotch whisky industry.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Kilchoman, the brainchild of Anthony Wills in 2005. Kilchoman will be celebrating this milestone throughout the year. This year’s release of Loch Gorm, aged for 10 years for the first time, is just a beginning.
Loch Gorm, in my opinion, is reaching its perfect age, balancing those rich sherry notes with our classic Islay spirit. Ten years maturation in sherry casks has added an abundance of rich spices, dark fruit and barbecue sweetness to the light citrus and peaty character of Kilchoman.
Anthony Wills – Kilchoman Founder
The Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2025 Edition is bottled at 46% ABV. It is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. The whisky will be available via specialist whisky retailers in the UK and Europe first, then markets worldwide in time. A 70cl bottle will cost £75-80.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is deep coppery gold and the nose bold, sweet and smoky. Initial aromas are heavily honeyed with some golden syrup also. Then comes a wave of umami-like savoury characteristics. Think of damp earth, dried mushroom, plus a distinct coastal salinity and drying seaweed. The peat smoke has a meaty barbeque edge with a whiff of charred bacon. A green herbal vegetal aroma like thyme and oregano, sits in the background.
On the palate this whisky is rich, smoky and peppery. The smoke is dominant and leading the way is a combination of big meaty notes with some ashy smoke. The combination made us think of barbeque charcoal, good barbeque sauce and that charred bacon again. Finally, some sweetness evolves. Imagine a marriage of apricot jam and honey with golden syrup.
Sitting in the background again is a definite salinity. This has a hint of minerality and chalkiness, like coastal sea spray. Combined with the earlier sweetness, it is reminiscent of salted caramel. Then come toasted walnut and brazils, plus an underlying robust malty character. This becomes very biscuity, almost like freshly baked oat cookies. Ahint of burnt popcorn rounds things off.
The finish is long, smoky and ashy. The sweet and nutty elements slowly fade. This allows bonfire embers to smoulder away for ages and elongate the finish. The ashy vibe gives an increasing dryness, especially once the peppery and spiky heat returns.
What’s The Verdict?
This is a big, bold and ashy whisky. The marriage of ashy peat smoke, maltiness and ex-sherry cask maturation has created a full-on experience. It is very interesting to see Kilchoman coming of age. We have watched their progress since starting Whisky For Everyone in 2008. It is great to see them releasing higher age statements on a more regular basis. It is also great for them to be celebrating 20 years. They are a prime example of how to do things well for the many new craft distillers in Scotland and beyond.
