Kilchoman - Machir Bay

Kilchoman Distillery

Machir Bay

Single Malt Scotch, 750ml, 46% abv

Non-chill filtered, natural color

For those not familiar with the Kilchoman Distillery, it was the first “new” distillery on Islay in 124 years when it was established in 2005, paving the way for a new crop of young distilleries such as Ardnahoe, Port Ellen, and soon Portintruan, Finlaggan and possibly more. But even when all those distilleries are built, this is still the only farm distillery — they operate a large farm that grows barley, something that is immediately obvious when you visit, literally dodging tractors as you work your way to the parking lot. While they do not have the capacity to grow all the barley they need to make their whiskies, no other distillery on Islay has committed to farming in any meaningful way, certainly nothing like Kilchoman has, which today remains a family-run operation by Anthony Wills and his sons (and now the family of the farm they partnered with and ultimately merged with are involved as well). Truly extraordinary whisky — and Peated Islay single malt Scotch at that.

From the Distillery: “Machir Bay, our signature peated single malt, is a vatting of Kilchoman matured in both bourbon and sherry casks. Named after Islay’s most spectacular beach, the high proportion of bourbon barrels create a distinct balance of classic Islay character and fresh floral complexity.”