Kilchoman Distillery, Isle of Islay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland - how malt whisky is made

Kilchoman, (pronounced kil-ho-man) established in 2005, is a farm distillery and the first to be built on Islay (pronounced eye-luh) for 124 years. It is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland with an annual production of 100,000 litres of alcohol.

Kilchoman is one of only six distilleries to carry out traditional floor maltings. Three of these distilleries are on Islay (Bowmore and Laphroaig are the other two) but a key difference is that, at Kilchoman, the barley is grown on the farm at the distillery, whereas other distilleries purchase barley from around the country. And I think I'm right in saying that Kilchoman is unique in having all parts of the process (growing barley, malting, distilling, maturing and bottling) carried out on site - which is why we went there.

80% of the annual production is filled into a combination of fresh Bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace Distillery, Kentucky and refill casks, and 20% into fresh oloroso sherry butts.

For further information, go to http://www.kilchomandistillery.com

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