Kilchoman Distillery, Scotland     founded: 2005 | active
For more detailed mapping of the distilleries in the area from our whisky map page, use this link.

Cajun chicken, biltong, animal hide – this dram is ripe with meaty goodness! (and with a suggestion of ‘bacon bits from Pizza hut’ even the vegetarian is in agreement). It’s reminiscent of snacks, but not in the generic sense, we’re smelling Hot & Spicy Monster Munch and Willards Beef and Tomato crisps, not to mention the Cadbury’s fudge bar eaten inconspicuously at the back of the classroom during chemistry. Speaking of chemistry (yes, a link was forged right before your very eyes), there are definite whiffs of iodine and formaldehyde, and a rather unsavoury smoked mouth-wash (an exclusive Shelly-brand). Let’s take a culinary trip to the seaside with kippers for breakfast and smoked mackerel and dillisk for lunch - an elegant garnish of freshly diced green herbs classing it gourmet. It’s earthy…but a kind of sandy earthy, 100m back from the sand dunes to be exact. From the sawmills to the farmyard, with undertones of burning turf and old leather, it’s stylishly unrefined. And for those dessert enthusiasts, there’s even a dollop of molasses in there to sweeten the deal.

Mmm, blue cheese and honey – so sweet and savoury meet again, but this time, English Mustard and green chillies add a little bit of heat to the mix. That and the Deep Heat, of course. Hardy vegetables like char-grilled parsnips and beetroot feature, along with coffee beans and dry-roasted peanuts. It’s a robust and nutty dram, but also rather creamy – peanut butter is followed with a scoop of rum and raisin ice-cream. Yum. Bitumen (a certain viscosity), an old barn, then somehow Mike the headless chicken crops up (Google it)…moving on…well, with Chinese style barbeque ribs and candied sea-horses, this one has a bit of an oriental twist. It’s spicy and sweet - paprika and ginger biscuits, a handful of honey-roasted almonds. But the seaside’s never far away, and there’s oysters on the menu.

TCP and wood varnish. Gingerish as opposed to gingery, smoked chillies and soya sauce. Jalfrezi and baba ganoush. Lots of savoury flavour here…and then some toffee. It’s charred pine furniture from a broken home, no wait, maybe it’s Parma ham from a middle-class, Guardian-reading household in the South of Edinburgh. Either way, it’s slick – baby oil and engine oil sum up the mouth-feel. Medium to medium long to long…ok, mostly long, but it’s fair to say we were undecided as a group. Like scoring from the half-way line.

~£65 (70cl)

Royal Mile Whiskies: Kilchoman Sherry 5yo   |   http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/product.asp?

We've always scored out of 10 in our group (see number in red box, below), with scores regularly given across that spectrum. The value out of 100 below is adjusted to the scale most commonly used for whisky reviews, to allow for better comparison.

89 / 100