
October 7, 2016

Kilchoman vs. Ballechin,
two peated rumskies

Yeah well, since many bottlers are emptying casks of Caroni these days, no wonder they then use those empty casks to finish some malt whiskies. We’ll have two examples today, both pretty young, and both very peaty. Caroni and peaters, couldn’t that be like Jack White and Nick Cave playing together? Let’s see…

Ballechin 2005/2016 (56.7%, OB, for LMdW, Caroni rum finish, cask #906)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: sweet Vishnu, they reinvented teak oil! Quite an experience, smoky of course, and very medicinal. The rum pushed the little Midlander towards Islay, as this has more coastal notes than usual, more brine, more kelp, and certainly more tincture of iodine. In fact, it is not impossible that they managed to recreate Laphroaig circa 1985. How funny! With water: plasticine and bicycle inner tubes, nothing to complain about. Mouth (neat): love it. Sweet peat, citrons, tar, and apple peelings, with a green bitterish side that works very well, and bandages. Seriously, 1985 Laphroaig. With water: it even gets a little salty, while there are more grapefruits and lemons coming to the front. And our beloved Caroni-esque olives? No, let’s not exaggerate, I don’t quite find them… Or perhaps a tiny wee bit… Finish: long, a little ashier and sootier. A sweetness in the aftertaste, but that’s not sugarcane, is it? Comments: a great idea. A shame that you cannot leave a good 50 litres of the previous content in the cask prior to refilling it, but I’d love to be able to try a… Carochin or Balleni. A true hyper-congeneric world spirit! SGP:457 - 87 points.

Kilchoman 2011/2016 (59.4%, OB, for LMdW, Caroni cask finish, cask #531)

Colour: straw. Nose: shy after the Ballechin, but that may be the higher strength. More sugary touches, and not that much peat or phenols or tar. Is it blocked? Let’s try to unblock it! With water: sweeter and less deep than the Midlander, as well as a little narrower. Less tar, but more sea spray and kilny notes. Shall we all it more ‘minimal’? Mouth (neat): not blocked at all this time, but not immensely complex. Rather on lemons and grapefruits coated with a little pitch, I have the feeling that the rum’s almost having the upper hand this time. Not too sure… With water: ah, more tar, balsam, fir wood, honeydew… We’re starting to talk! Once again, the rum’s a little dominant, but that really works. A lot of tar, really. Finish: long, brinier, and more citrusy. Comments: once again, very good, if less profound and fat than the Ballechin, which I rather preferred. SGP:357 - 85 points.

So, who’s up for doing a real high-ester rum plus peated malt vatting? Come on, please… (yeah I know we could do that ourselves in our glasses, but that’s not the same…)

Kilchoman vs. Ballechin, two peated rumskies

Kilchoman vs. Ballechin,
two peated rumskies