After Ardnahoe [WLP], I’m rather worse for wear and nursing my wounds after a fall,… down a hill. Whoopsy! Despite a suspected broken nose, I simply must show up at Kilchoman’s Open Day even if I don’t envision partaking.
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I discover [the boring way] that Kilchoman’s car park is full to the brim. I about-turn, park up at Machir Bay and cycle back up to the distillery. I return to find Kilchoman effervescing with festive form with the per-usual games, music, food, tours, tastings etc.,
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Looking around, it would seem the majority of peeps are loitering in the packed courtyard, generally enjoying themselves with music & whisky [see video below]. On second glance, I now see that most are engaged in one of Britain’s most popular pastimes – queuing! Indeed, the queues for Kilchoman festival bottling this year are so extraordinary, they really should have piqued my interest had I been a little more present.
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Given the lacklustre over-priced releases so far seen at this year’s Feis Ile, Kilchoman bucked that trend by releasing their oldest bottling to date – a 16yo [WB] borne from the first fifty casks the WIlls family ever filled. With only 865 bottles officially produced, it was on sale under my very nose for just £150!
In my hungover stupor, I grabbed some food before the lunchtime rush,… once all the Feis Ile bottles had sold out. Doh!
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Since I was last here [2018: WLP], not only is the new maltings now up and running,…
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,… but a whole other distillery has appeared next to the old one, complete with a separate mash tun, its own fermentation room, and a completely independent pair of stills and condensers. Apparently, Kilchoman is set to double production again in the near future.
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And not only a whole new distillery expansion but there’s a whole new visitor’s centre too!
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Family-run small-holding Kilchoman is an incredible success story. Anthony [above] must be chuffed to bits, year on year. I wish I’d thanked him personally but felt in no condition to communicate with the great man at the time.
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Time for a stroll,…
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,… a rather milder experience than when I first set foot on Machir Bay in October of 2013 where a double hat was required.
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Since my first visit in 2013, the bay appears to have gained a shark-toothed shipwreck:
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I make my way back towards Bruichladdich only to discover a car has broken down on the single-track road leading up to Kilchoman, effectively closing the main artery to & from the distillery. This meant hundreds of drivers were now taking the long way around the Gorm on their way back home [first-world problems!]
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Unfortunately, new arrivals heading towards Kilchoman are having to do the same thing in the other direction. There is a gridlock situation for some time, much to the frustration of some and the amusement – the imbibed – of others.
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Finally clear of the ruckus, I park up by the sea for the night, settling for a quiet spot near Caladh-na-Sith [pic above] – a bay you pass on your left just before you reach Bruichladdich.
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Miraculously getting myself into bed by 9:30pm for an early one, cue a coach load of German festival goers who swarm onto the beach with guitars and accordions – I kid you not – and begin singing and dancing!! It’s quite unbelievable [given what happened in Port Ellen yesterday: [WLP] that they have decided to use my van as a meeting point when the rest of the bay, bar a few sheep, is totally deserted.
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No alcohol consumed today. You? Tomorrow, I shall return re-invigorated for Bunnahabhain’s Open Day.
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