Kilchoman Single Cask 8yo Ruby Port "SCWC" pick...

Kilchoman Single Cask 8yo Ruby Port "SCWC" pick (55.8%): Here is our second single cask pick as Southern California Whiskey Club. It is an eight year old Kilchoman which spent most of its life in an 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel sourced from Buffalo Trace and then got finished for a relatively short period in a quarter cask which held previously ruby port. In the end the quarter cask yielded 138 bottles at cask strength when bottled this year in 2020.

Color: Medium amber, orange marmalade color with tiny teardrops very slowly turning into thin legs around the glass. 

Nose: Peat... Dusty and chalky. Burnt ends, wild mushrooms and damp forest floor. Sour cherry preserve, cranberry juice and iced rooibos tea. After adding a few drops of water: Dusty attic, old cardboard boxes and cowshed.

Palate: Brisket, charcoal and dry soot. Maraschino cherries, damp pipe tobacco and port glaze... Luscious: Sweet and salty, ashy and fruity. With water: Rock salt, cured meat and fennel. Unlit cigarettes...

Finish: Long with mild paprika, red liquorice and red wine vinegar.

Overall: A totally unique cask... It's mouthwatering, sweet, salty and quite peaty. The peat is farmy rather than being coastal like any other Kilchoman expression and layered with sweet red fruits and salt. A cracker dram...

Price: $130

91/100