Kilchoman European Tour 2026
Kilchoman is one of the youngest distilleries on Islay, but at the same time it is one of the most traditional. It was founded in 2005 by Anthony Wills with a clear vision: to produce whisky in the way that was once common on Islay, in small quantities and with an emphasis on the origin of the raw materials and complete control over the production process.
As one of the few true farm distilleries in Scotland, Kilchoman grows some of its barley directly on the island (which it uses to produce its 100% Islay edition), produces its own malt in its own malting plant, and carries out both distillation and maturation under one roof.
Their first single malt saw the light of day in 2009 and immediately won the hearts of whisky enthusiasts with its slogan "taking whisky back to its roots." Kilchoman presented a straightforward distillate focused on coastal minerality, earthy peat, and subtle fruitiness. Over time, the distillery underwent several expansions to increase production capacity and is now capable of producing approximately 650,000 liters of alcohol per year.
The distillery's core range consists of three bottlings: Machir Bay, Sanaig, and Batch Strength, each of which showcases a different facet of the distillery. Machir Bay is a delicately sweet whisky, predominantly matured in bourbon casks, with notes of citrus, peat, and sea breeze, while Sanaig is its heavier, denser relative, which spent most of its maturation in Oloroso sherry casks, giving it a darker color and fuller flavor, with notes of sour forest fruits, sun-kissed oranges, earthy peat, and dark chocolate. Batch Strength is the latest addition to their core range and was introduced during the Kilchoman European Tour in 2024. It is bottled at a much higher alcohol strength (Batch 1 was 57 % ABV) and was matured in bourbon, sherry, and newly charred red wine casks, giving it a certain sharpness and a more pronounced presence of tannins.
Kilchoman also releases its 100 % Islay Edition and Loch Gorm bottlings annually. The 100 % Islay Edition is made from barley that they grow themselves and smoked to around 20 PPM. These bottlings used to be smoother and matured in bourbon casks, but in recent years they have not been afraid to experiment, adding sherry casks to the mix, and in 2025 they even released a 100 % Islay Edition matured exclusively in sherry casks. Loch Gorm is a heavier, 100 % sherry-matured whisky with a higher phenol content (50 PPM before distillation). You can expect notes of earth, peat, forest fruits, leather, chocolate, and tobacco.
You can also find limited bottlings, single casks, and bottles for the Feis Ile festival.
Now, after this not-so-brief introduction, let's look at something really special:
Kilchoman European Tour: when whiskey travels to people
Since its inception, Kilchoman has been unique in that it never wanted to be just another brand gathering dust on a store shelf, so they focused on a personal approach, transparency, and close contact with the people who drink their whiskey. It was from this philosophy that the Kilchoman European Tour project was gradually born.
The idea for the European Tour arose in response to growing interest in Kilchoman across Europe and as a way to bring the brand closer to fans outside Scotland. Instead of large, anonymous campaigns, Kilchoman decided to travel directly to the people: to whiskey bars, specialty shops, and festivals, where personal contact still carries weight.
More than just tastings
The European Tour was never just about pouring whisky into glasses. Its goal was to tell a story. A story about Islay, about barley grown right on the island, and about why Kilchoman does things a little differently. Visitors had the opportunity to taste not only the core range, but often also experimental or exclusive bottles that were not available elsewhere.
It was here that the tradition of special editions linked exclusively to the European Tour gradually began to emerge.
Each year of the European Tour brought something a little different. In 2024, during the tour, they presented the third part of their core range: Batch Strength. In 2025, they came up with New Oak Single Cask Finish whisky, which matured in a new Carpathian oak cask and was then finished in a newly charred red wine cask.
European Tour 2026
The year 2026 continues this tradition and once again confirms that Kilchoman is not afraid to experiment. The Mezcal Cask Matured edition is one of the most daring ventures of the European Tour, combining the classic Islay peaty character with the influence of mezcal casks, which bring a drier, earthier, and more exotic dimension to the whisky.
This is a 5-year-old whisky that has matured in first-fill mezcal casks. It was bottled at 50 % ABV, without chill filtration or coloring. Kilchoman once again presents fans with a true craft whisky.
The combination of flavors from mezcal barrels goes hand in hand with the house style of this distillery. The whiskey is fruity, fresh, intense, peaty, and beautifully layered.
At first glance, it seems a little shy in the glass, but after a few minutes it opens up and you can smell notes of citrus, agave, honey, sea breeze, sun-kissed oak, sweet peat, and tropical fruit. The taste is full, even explosive. It opens with earthy and spicy notes, but after a while, tones of dry peat, sweet agave, vanilla, anise, sea salt, tropical fruit, and citrus appear in the taste. The finish is long, dry, slightly sour and creamy, with peat, spice, citrus and agave again, but also notes of salted nuts, tropical fruit, honey and grilled pineapple. There is a certain herbaceousness and a subtle hint of mint. There is even a hint of vegetable flavor, such as green pepper.
This whiskey works and is definitely worth trying, whether you are a fan of Kilchoman or like to try unusual whiskey finishes. Despite its higher alcohol content, the whiskey did not seem sharp to me, which was probably due to the presence of sweeter tones such as honey, agave, and vanilla. The whiskey is balanced and rounded.
If any part of this article has caught your interest, we would be delighted to welcome you on February 15 at our store on Rusovská Street in Bratislava for the Slovak stop of the Kilchoman European Tour, where you will have the opportunity to taste this and other bottlings from this distillery.
We look forward to seeing you.
