Kilchoman Loch Gorm review

[@jackthepickledhound]

Beautiful! I really do agree with your purchasing habits of whiskies like this and the Bunna and GA10 and Kilkerran as well. The KK heavily peated is floating around in my neighborhood, batch 9 I believe, and that would be my 3 rd bottle taking up space so I don't know if I'll do it. I paid the extra for Loch Gorm while I haven't tried the Sanaig yet. Very pleased with my decision but it will be a very good and prosperous day when I am willing pay the extra again. Of all these releases I mentioned the KK is usually $120 and the LG is $105 the Bunna is only $100 and the GA is $85. The Sanaig at $65 is much more realistic. For my compulsion to collect, I'm sticking with Cairdeas as long as its less than $100. The Loch Gorm Is a beautiful thing, especially as you get down below the shoulder toward the label. But we're seeing USA releases for $85 that are interesting enough and usually over 47%. The single casks, which are great if your a Kilchoman fan, are hitting the shelves $135-160 depending on the age. So Kilchoman, with all due respect for the craft, is not a budget friendly option.

[@Nikolay_Nikolov]

Hey, Jim! Great review, honest and informative. Haven't tasted the 2022 release of Loch Gorm yet, but love the 2020 one. The balance between smoke and sherry is indeed what makes this this dram one of my favorite peated Islay malts. I have a soft spot in my heart for Loch Gorm and Kilchoman in general. IMHO nowadays Kilchoman is the top Islay distillery when comes to peated malt whisky. The quality of their product is just rock solid. The only drawback is the pricing. In Bulgaria Kilchoman whisky is fairly well presented and very well priced, compared to Western European/UK markets and still it feels steep. I've been following Loch Gorm releases since the 2018 one and the price in our market has been more or less the same. The most recent release available in Bulgaria is indeed the 2022 one and I bought it earlier this year for the equivalent of roughly 53-54 pounds. Being a fan of Kilchoman distillery and Loch Gorm series, would I pay 80-90 pounds for a bottle of it? Absolutely not! I don't know who or what is to blame for that price you cited, but it just ain't fair. Cheers!

[@hamo4558]

I love it too !

[@peathead4450]

Thanks for reviewing, Jim. Not the biggest sherried whisky lover, this one is not for me, but there certainly will be whisky lovers that will enjoy this one. Slàinte mhath

[@WhiskeyNovice]

How very indifferent of you Frank 😂😂😂 Slàinte my friend.

[@peathead4450]

@@WhiskeyNovice😇

[@richardagnew4959]

Always love the 'Norn Iron' humour and honesty, Jim! 😆

[@AlReyn]

Great review Jim. I have the 22 loch gorm but yet to open. Off the back of your review it will be open soon!

[@Koby616]

I haven't tried it yet, but would love to try it out. Doubt I will get my own bottle, looks quite expensive, would rather get something else maybe even Kilchoman Sanaig

[@bluesmanen1]

Nice review. I had a bottle of Loch Gorm in 2015, when I visited Islay, and after seeing this I'll consider to buy a new one. The price here in Sweden is 999skr and that's around £72 in todays currency. To me 999skr is on the higher end of my price range, but up to 1500skr can be acceptable if it's a whisky that I raelly want, maybe something from Springbank if one is lucky ;)

[@northcoastdrammer8348]

I’ve yet to buy any of the Kilchoman range but have been lucky enough to try quite a few of them thanks to you! Ive really enjoyed them all so I shall change that when I lift my buying ban lol cheers buddy 🥃

[@WhiskeyNovice]

You mean, when you stop buying indies 😉😂. Always happy to provide mate. Cheers.

[@northcoastdrammer8348]

@@WhiskeyNovice Me Buying Indies 🤷‍♂️ nope not me haha 😁

[@whiskywhereabouts]

Good stuff, but it's going to command $125+ in my market here in the US ...

[@RomainRiviere]

I don't get your comparison with the Bunna 12. Totally different ABVs, one that is vert peaty.... And to be honest, i liked Loch Gorm but was one the few who really didn't like this Bunna 12 sherry bomb. I need to sell the extra bottle i stupidly bought. I fully agree though about the price of the Loch Gorm being a little too high. I do think i would be ready to pay this price if they added a stage statement on it, 12yo why not?

[@sorinsrn5442]

I would really liked to see Loch Gorm head to head with Uigeadail. Nevertheless good review.

[@bennyfriis601]

That Bunna 12 CS is not on the Danish market, don't think it has ever been. I don't know if I should be pleased about it or not... would love to try it, but on the other hand it's just another bottle to resist buying if it was available to me 🤷‍♂😂 Thanks for the review, Jim. I'll pass on the Kilchoman, even if that one is actually available in Denmark. Too much other interesting stuff to look for with some very reasonably priced peated whisky available from indie bottlers, sherry matured too, even though I prefer the bourbon matured ones. Cheers mate! 🥃

[@WhiskeyNovice]

You Frank are in the same camp Benny 😉. To be honest...most sherry cask matured/finished offerings I've had, haven't worked. But, I'm convinced that when they do...they can be amazing (as is the case here.) Thanks my friend.

[@bennyfriis601]

@@WhiskeyNovice Well for what it's worth, either I'm more curious than Frank or he's just smarter than me (one does not exclude the other, mind you)... because of course I've bought 2 peated sherry matured bottles "just because". Bunna Toiteach A Dha and a 9-10 yo Caol Ila from German indie bottler Malts of Scotland, (the former a mix of bourbon and Oloroso, I know). My palate may (probably will) change and evolve over time, and what a disaster it would be not having the in house stock to explore further then 😂

[@utoobia]

The only Bunna CS to look for IMHO is the 2022 bottling. That’s the special one. BUT, if you’re not a big sherry cask fan you may well not like it. It’s a sherry bomb, and I usually don’t gravitate to those myself, but I loved it. Bought 4 bottles.

[@bennyfriis601]

@@utoobia Thanks for the input, much appreciated 👍 I definitely prefer (refill) bourbon maturation, but I have some sherry matured favourites as well, even if there are not dozens of them. The primary thing is that I'm more curious than most people 😁 I love that you made sure that you have backup bottles when batch variation is so significant. I should do that more often myself with the really special ones, when I find them.

[@stephenmcvarnock]

I had to do a double take at the price quoted as i saw it priced at around 35 quid at Xmas in M&S.... ... .. until i realised that was the Loch Gruinart which is a different beast altogether! 😂 Have you tried that one from Kilchoman, Jim?

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Hi Jim, my bottle of this is a bit old, I heard it is better nowadays but I hear you, I also have the older initial version of the Sanaig, less sherried than nowadays on the paper, would you say that the latter you enjoy enough to replace it, while the Loch Gorm not ? In other terms, which of the two do you prefer ? Cheers !

[@WhiskeyNovice]

Oh I'll go for the Loch Gorm every time Greg. The Sanaig has never wowed me.

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Thanks Jim @@WhiskeyNovice me I love my bottle of Sanaig but it is the earlier version of it that was very popular here & in Germany & became core range afterwards (it's a 50/50 Bourbon & Sherry casks expression, not 70 % Sherry as nowadays one). Cheers !

[@kevinnordby4808]

Great review Jim! I hate to tempt you but I had the 2022 and the 2023 and found the 2023 release to be a bit better even.

[@FEWGEE1]

I found the 2023 flat and boring compared to the 2022

[@pfalzgraf7527]

The price ... has probably been somewhat jacked here. However, Kilchoman is the smaller, craftier distillery. So, a slightly higher price is quite understandable. In this case, the difference is certainly a bit too much.

[@jackthepickledhound]

Yes it is, NAS and only 46%....not winning the value category. Nice whisky though.