Kilchoman 2012 STR Cask

Another STR cask whisky. These are red wine casks treated with Dr Jim Swan’s proprietary shaving / toasting / re-charring process. The wine adds depth but the shaving and re-charring takes away the excessive winey edge, while also eliminating the rough new oak elements. A mix of seasoned and virgin oak if you like, mostly used by young distilleries (like Gouden Carolus, Cotswolds and recently Nc’Nean) to beef up young whisky.

Kilchoman STR Cask is a combination of 43 hogsheads, filled with 50 ppm new make and aged for around 6-7 years of age.

Kilchoman 2012 STR Cask
(50%, OB 2019, 14500 btl.)

Nose: a lot of caramelization and barbecue notes. Lots of ashes. A red berry and grape theme as well. Raspberry candy, a light touch of balsamic. Bananas flambéed. Big peppery notes and some fresh oak shavings.

Mouth: sweet at first, quickly becoming more acrid and peppery. Quite strong. Salmiak, big earthy peat and tarry notes. Chilli chocolate. A bit of berry sweetness but the winey side is less strong now. Salty hints and drying wood towards the end.

Finish: long, drying and just a tad harsh, with pungent pepper, some tannins and heavy black tea.

The balance with the red wine is fine, I think the peppery kick and peat blast are more prominent than the wine. A flavoursome, punched up Kilchoman, I wonder who came up with the idea to give this spirit an extra kick in the butt? Still available from TWE and MoM for instance.

Score: 83/100