It’s been a few years since my last – and only – Kilchoman review, so it feels overdue to bring the distillery back to the tasting table. This time I’m looking at three sherry-influenced expressions: Loch Gorm 2021, Loch Gorm 2026, and Sanaig Cask Strength. Previously I found Kilchoman a little hard to love, particularly its pronounced farmyard note, which I also struggled with in Ledaig, but my palate has shifted over time and that character bothers me far less now. With that in mind, I’m curious to see how Kilchoman shows today, and as always, my impressions should be read with a pinch of salt, as they inevitably reflect my own preferences and subjective leanings.
Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2021) Review
Loch Gorm is Kilchoman’s flagship annual limited edition – the only release from the Islay farm distillery matured entirely in oloroso sherry casks, named after Islay’s largest freshwater loch, which sits adjacent to the distillery. Since its debut around 2012, Loch Gorm has become one of the most anticipated releases in the Kilchoman calendar precisely because it departs from the distillery’s default recipe: while the majority of Kilchoman’s spirit is matured in ex-bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace, Loch Gorm is built exclusively from sherry-seasoned wood, testing how well the distillery’s peated spirit interacts with rich Spanish oak.
The 2021 edition is a vatting of 24 Oloroso sherry butts, each 500 litres, sourced from Bodega Miguel Martin in Jerez, Spain, filled in 2011 and 2012 with new-make spirit peated to 50 ppm. Unlike the 2020 edition’s more varied vintage spread, this release draws from just two fill years, though it maintains the same minimum maturation standard. The casks – a mix of fresh fill and refill sherry wood, with fresh casks in the majority, giving a notably strong sherry imprint – were vatted together after a minimum of 9 years of maturation and bottled at 46% ABV, natural colour, and non-chill-filtered. The total outturn was 17,000 bottles distributed worldwide, released for approximately £69–70 / $97 US at launch in March 2021.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose opens with an elegant blend of peat and sweetness: sea spray and damp embers mingle with heather honey, raisins, and sultana, while underlying aromas of bittersweet cereals, damp moss, and bitter orange peel add complexity. A warming spice profile – cinnamon, ginger, and white pepper – rounds out the base. Lemon and spices intertwine with rich sherry notes and faint peat smoke. A little bit of burnt wood, brine, sea salt and a smouldering beach fire add a smoky and coastal feeling.
Palate:
Neat: Luscious and juicy on arrival, with sweet heather honey and sultanas appearing immediately before the smoky, peaty elements build in waves – damp earth, charred oat cookies, dying embers, tar and a hint of charcoal ash – creating an enjoyable interplay of sweet, drying, and savoury. Bittersweet malty cereals offer grip and robustness, with warming baking and woody spices (cinnamon, allspice, toasted oak, and sandalwood) developing as the peat mellows, plus late notes of gingerbread, milk chocolate, and golden syrup.
Finish:
Long and warming, with sweet notes continuing before fading slowly, leaving robust cereals, burnt oak and drying, ash-like smoke to linger.
Comments:
I haven’t tried many Kilchoman releases, and the ones I’d sampled before weren’t really for me, as I usually found them a bit too farmy. That said, this Loch Gorm 2021 is a very good dram: the peat and sherry work together very well, and the result is balanced, punchy and convincing. Let’s see how the latest edition compares.
Rating: 7/10
Kilchoman Loch Gorm (2026) Review
The Loch Gorm 2026 Edition, released on 17 April 2026, marks the second consecutive year the series has carried an explicit age statement – this time bottled at a full 10-year-old, making it the oldest Loch Gorm to date. Founder Anthony Wills and production director Robin Bignal selected 23 oloroso sherry butts (500 litres) from Bodega José y Miguel Martín in Jerez, with 20 first fill and 3 refill casks in a mix of Spanish and French oak. The barley was peated to Kilchoman’s standard 50 ppm. Wills has called 10 years ‘the sweet spot’ for Kilchoman’s sherry maturation – old enough for a genuine oloroso character without the spirit being overwhelmed.
This Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2026 Edition is like its older sibling bottled at 46% ABV, natural colour and non-chill-filtered, with an outturn of approximately 18,000 bottles distributed worldwide. UK retail price is around £63–80; and roughly €72–88 in Europe.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: The nose opens with a caramelised custard tart, freshly roasted coffee, and candied ginger, layered over dried red fruits and rich, deep peat smoke reminiscent of grilled or barbecued meats. The maritime peat is wrapped in ripe fruit and sweet molasses, alongside toasted nuts. Deeper notes emerge than in the 2021 Loch Gorm: raisins, dark chocolate, and leather, lifted by bright candied orange. Roasted ham, nutmeg, and orange peel.
Palate:
Neat: Honey-roasted figs, cloves, and sticky toffee pudding lead the way, carried by a suggestive smokiness that recalls barbecued bananas. Candied orange, tropical fruit, salted caramel, dried plums, and warming cinnamon and nutmeg integrate seamlessly with the peat. The salty smoke wraps around ripe fruit and caramel before developing into charred wood, pepper, cinnamon, and dark chocolate, all carried on a creamy, enveloping texture. Coffee, molasses, and embers build alongside sweet spice, with the smoke present but never dominant as the sherry richness takes hold.
Finish:
The finish lingers with a savoury, earthy undertone balanced against persistent spice, toasted dark chocolate, and liquorice. It stays smoky, salty, and fruity for a long stretch, closing on bitter cocoa, dark fruits, toasted oak, and a pleasant salinity.
Comments:
This 2026 Kilchoman Loch Gorm feels deeper and richer than the 2021 edition, despite the maturation being only marginally longer. The sherry influence is a little more pronounced, but it still leaves the Kilchoman character intact. The price has risen slightly over the years, though the clear step up between the two editions makes that easier to accept.
Rating: 7.5/10
Kilchoman Sanaig Cask Strength (2024) Review
The Kilchoman Sanaig Cask Strength is the higher-proof counterpart to Kilchoman’s core-range Sanaig, first released in October 2024 after years of fan requests following the success of the Machir Bay Cask Strength edition. Sanaig uses the same recipe as its 46% sibling – approximately 70% Oloroso sherry cask influence (a mix of sherry hogshead finishes and fully sherry-matured casks), with the remainder ex-bourbon. The sherry butts come from the distillery’s long-standing supplier, Bodega José y Miguel Martín in Jerez. The spirit is peated to Kilchoman’s standard 50 ppm, released as a No Age Statement of roughly 5 years, the same age bracket as Machir Bay.
This Sanaig Cask Strength is bottled at 57.8% ABV, natural colour, non-chill-filtered, 70 cl, worldwide distribution. This is currently priced at approximately £80 / €70 / $USD 85. A cask-strength Sanaig sample had previously circulated informally at Fèis Ìle 2021 (at 58.9% ABV, unreleased), making the 2024 edition the first full commercial bottling of this expression.
Colour:
Clay.
Nose:
Neat: Sugar-sweet toffee is infused with enticing peat smoke and a sherry-soaked raisin and sultana fruitiness, joined by a gentle mix of orange and honey lurking in the background. The character leans into classic sherry-and-peat territory dominated by barbecue-like aromas – grilled beef and bacon mingle with slivers of charcoal, fresh tar, and a tinge of rusty metal.
With water: Adding a few drops opens the whisky further without diminishing its weight, letting the dried fruit breathe while keeping the sherry-driven richness intact. Dilution also accentuates the marine, iodised side of the whisky, pulling very slightly sulphurous notes to the surface alongside the peat and balsamic-glazed barbecue character.
Palate:
Neat: Vanilla toffee infused with sweet sherried peat leads the charge, developing a slightly fruitier edge with raisins, sultanas, and a little orange and lemon citrus; a touch of pepper and dark chocolate bitterness balance the sweetness with a late touch of cinnamon. The mouthfeel is thick and oily, with a meaty peat threaded with soot, embers, and ground pepper, alongside blackberries, plums, nutmeg, and iodine.
With water: On the palate, water tightens the integration between the smoke and the Spanish oak, letting sea-salt and saline notes come through more distinctly against the sweetness of raisins and spiced dark chocolate.
Finish:
The finish is long, sherried and sweetly peaty, echoing the palate: sugared raisins and sultanas, lingering orange and lemon citrus, a touch more cinnamon, a whisper of coffee, and a hint of liquorice – with the sweet peat holding on the longest.
Comments:
A third Kilchoman of the day, and another convincing one, with the peat and sherry once again well integrated. The alcohol sits comfortably despite the whisky’s youth, giving the right amount of presence to be drunk neat, while opening up nicely with a little water. The UK price feels a touch steep, but the German pricing makes it much easier to consider.
Rating: 7.5/10
Thanks to the Attic Islay, Arnaud and Matthias.