Kilchoman Distillery
If you are staying with us at Islay Cottages, Kilchoman Distillery is our next-door neighbour! One of the younger distilleries on Islay, Kilchoman Distillery was founded in 2005 by the Wills family.
Kilchoman Distillery
If you are staying with us at Islay Cottages, Kilchoman Distillery is our next-door neighbour! One of the younger distilleries on Islay, Kilchoman Distillery was founded in 2005 by the Wills family. Unique in the fact that it produces whisky from barley to bottle on one farm. Known as Islay’s Farm Distillery, it sees the revival of traditional farm distilling of the past and is the only distillery on the island producing Single Farm Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
Book Your StayKilchoman distilleries process…
Producing up 440 tonnes of barley per year, in some of the most fertile soil on the island, the barley is sown in Spring, ripened over the summer and harvested in September. This sees the start of the whisky-making process! The barley is stored in ambient temperatures to prevent it from germinating before heading to the malting floors. And this is where the malting process begins, arguably one of the most important stages. Then comes the mashing, fermenting and distilling. Finally, there is the maturation stage, where the magic happens.
Every stage of the whisky-making process is important. You cannot have one without the other. But maturation is one of the most fundamental and is the longest part of the process. Legally, to be a Single Malt whisky, maturation is a minimum of 3 years and one day in an oak cask. All Kilchoman whisky is bottled on site, so everything is done on the farm!
Kilchoman Distillery Tours
Of course, a holiday on Islay is not complete without at least one whisky tour. Kilchoman Distillery offers a range of tours. The Classic Tour, lasting 1hr15 minutes, sees you learn all about the day-to-day processes and running of the distillery. You will tour around and see the distillery production for yourself and have a Dram at the end of it in the Visitor Centre. The Limited Edition Tour looks into the traditional processes used to produce Single Farm Single Malt Whisky. Here at the end of the tour, you get to taste limited-edition whiskies. Both these tours, you come away with a tasting glass. Finally, on the Roving Tasting Tour, you will enjoy a tasting of a dram in each area of the distillery. You then head back to the shop for a final tasting of the exclusive single cask.
Shop and cafe
After all your whisky galore, you can head to the shop and stock up on your favourite whiskies to take home as a souvenir or gift. The shop is open 7 days a week. Maybe you need something to soak up all that whisky tasting with. The cafe is open from Sunday to Thursday and serves a range of delights such as soup, paninis, Cullen Skink and homemade cakes. You can also enjoy a range of barista-style coffees. It is recommended to book in advance for lunch as they can be very busy.
Whisky holidays on Islay
If you are looking for whisky holidays on Islay, we are ideally located to get you started, being neighbours of the Kilchoman Distillery. Here at Islay Cottages, our neighbouring properties, Kilchoman House and Kilchoman Cottages, offer delightful self-catering accommodation in the most spectacular location. Depending on the time of year, you could watch the barley being harvested for the whisky-making process. And you can all enjoy a dram as you can leave the car and walk back to your accommodation. Book your stay with us today. For more information, contact us today, and we will be happy to help. We look forward to welcoming you for some whisky magic!
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