Kilchoman Sanaig

Sanaig is Kilchoman's sherry-led core expression, named for an inlet on the Islay coast near the distillery. Where Machir Bay leans on bourbon wood, Sanaig tips the balance towards Oloroso for a richer, darker dram. Kilchoman opened in 2005 as the first new Islay distillery in over a century, and is the island's only farm distillery.

The distillery malts its barley on site and follows it through to bottling, a barley to bottle approach on a single Islay farm. Matured in ex-Bourbon and Oloroso casks with the sherry to the fore, the wood pulls the young peated spirit towards dried fruit.

Bottled at 46%, non-chill-filtered and natural in colour. Peat phenols carry the smoke while the Oloroso gives fig and raisin from its melanoidins. The recorded notes run to a sherried character, smoke, dried fruit, chocolate, a coal-gas edge and fresh oak. The richer face of the core range.