Kilchoman distillery

Kilchoman is the westernmost distillery in Islay and the only distillery on Islay that is not directly on the sea. Its name comes from an old church whose ruins lie on the picturesque Machir Bay.

Production of Kilchoman whisky

Kilchoman is one of the few whisky distilleries that still undertake part of the malting process. About 30% of the production is made on site with a phenol content of 20ppm. The rest is also produced on Islay near Port Ellen at around 50ppm. At Kilchoman, every production step, from planting the grain on the associated farm to filling and labeling the bottles, is carried out independently on site. In general, great importance is attached to independence and tradition.

And so, with the 100% Islay bottling, they are proud to be able to offer a single malt that is 100% locally produced as the only distillery in Scotland. Independent bottlings are very rare, but there are some vintage and single cask bottlings alongside the other original bottlings of the distillery.

History of Kilchoman distillery

After 124 years, Kilchoman was the first new distillery to be established there in 2005. In 2006 one had to fight with a fire that broke out in the actively used Kiln (pagoda roof for drying the malt). As a result, production had to be interrupted for a few weeks. On September 9th, 2009 you could finally fill your first own single malt whisky and that with astonishing and much noticed quality. In the meantime, all capacities are far too low and so founder Anthony Wills has decided to double the production. For this purpose, a new malt floor and kiln are planned.

Kilchoman factsheet