Kilchoman Sanaig Scotch Whisky
Kilchoman Sanaig Scotch Whisky is a 750mL Islay single malt bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered and natural in colour, with no age statement. It is a sherry-led vatting — roughly 70% Oloroso sherry casks to 30% bourbon casks — built on barley peated to 50 ppm, which makes it the darker, fruitier side of Kilchoman's core range: distillery smoke wrapped in dried fruit and dark chocolate. Sanaig is named for the rocky Atlantic inlet just north of the distillery at Rockside Farm. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 46%
- Size: 750mL
- Age: No age statement
- Casks: Sherry-led vatting — around 70% Oloroso sherry, 30% bourbon casks
- Peat: Barley peated to 50 ppm
- Distillery: Kilchoman, Rockside Farm, Islay, Scotland; non-chill-filtered, natural colour
Islay's Farm Distillery, in a Sherry Coat
Kilchoman was the first new distillery built on Islay in over 124 years when Anthony Wills founded it at Rockside Farm in 2005 — a working farm that grows barley, floor-malts on site, and distils, matures and bottles everything on the island. Sanaig shows what that young, smoky spirit does when sherry casks take the lead: where its sibling Machir Bay is bourbon-bright, Sanaig is the evening pour, all raisins, plums and barbecue smoke under the peat. It took Best Single Malt Scotch (No Age Statement) honours at the IWSC in 2016. Set it beside Machir Bay on the Kilchoman vendor page and browse more of the island in our Scotch whisky collection.
Tasting Notes
Kilchoman's notes describe fragrant heather, raisins, pear and orange peel over stone fruit and peat smoke; a palate of overripe plums, red cherries and citrus giving way to barbecue smoke, toffee, oak and dark chocolate; and a mouth-coating finish of mixed fruit, caramel, cinnamon and clove.
How to Enjoy
Neat, with a teaspoon of water to separate the sherry fruit from the smoke. It is the natural after-dinner Kilchoman. More peated malts are in our whisky collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How peaty is Kilchoman Sanaig?
Properly peated — the barley is peated to 50 ppm, Islay's traditional register — but the sherry-led casks wrap the smoke in dried fruit and chocolate, so it drinks rounder than a bourbon-cask Islay.
What casks is Sanaig matured in?
A vatting of Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks, with the sherry side in the majority at around 70% — the inverse balance of Kilchoman's Machir Bay.
How old is Kilchoman Sanaig?
It carries no age statement; Kilchoman bottles it on flavour rather than a declared number of years, at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered with natural colour.
Sherry-dark and island-smoky — order Kilchoman Sanaig online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.