Kilchoman's first STR Cask Matured release came out in May 2019: a heavily peated Islay single malt spending its whole life in reconditioned red wine casks rather than a short finish. It is a small, one-off bottling from Islay's farm distillery.
About This Whisky
STR stands for shaving, toasting and re-charring, a cask treatment devised by Jim Swan. Used red wine casks have their inner surface shaved back to fresh oak, then toasted over an oak-chip fire and charred again, which leaves a gentle wine note and draws out sugars and vanilla from the wood. Anthony Wills picked 43 STR hogsheads filled in 2012, and the whisky was bottled at about six years old at 50% ABV, without chill filtration or added colour. Around 14,500 bottles were released.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Red summer fruits, cinnamon, toffee and a soft wreath of peat smoke.
- Palate: Caramel first, then raspberry, lemon tart and earthy smoke, with a peppery edge.
- Finish: Long, spiced and honeyed, the smoke fading slowly.
Serving & Food
Try it first at full strength in a Glencairn, then with a splash of cool water to bring out the berries. Pair with smoked duck breast, lamb chops off the grill or a slab of dark chocolate with sea salt.
How to Enjoy
Peat drinkers curious about wine casks, and Kilchoman followers filling gaps in their limited-release shelf.
Product Details
Category: Whisky
Distillery: Kilchoman
Producer: Kilchoman Distillery (Wills family)
Origin: Scotland
Region: Islay
Series: STR Cask Matured Limited Edition
Release: 2019 (casks filled 2012)
Cask Type: STR (shaved, toasted, re-charred) red wine hogsheads, full maturation
Peat Level: Approx. 50 ppm
ABV: 50%
Bottles: Approx. 14,500
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
Kilchoman sits at Rockside Farm on the Rhinns, the windswept western arm of Islay, a short walk from Machir Bay. Anthony Wills, who had worked as an independent bottler, set it up and filled the first cask in December 2005, the first new distillery on Islay for more than a hundred years. It is still owned by the Wills family. Some barley is grown on the farm and floor-malted on site for the 100% Islay range, while most releases, this one included, use malt from Port Ellen Maltings peated to around 50 ppm. The late Dr Jim Swan advised the distillery in its early years.