Maury is a fortified wine from the Roussillon in southern France: Grenache Noir grapes, a splash of eau de vie to arrest fermentation, and a production method close enough to Port that the comparison is usually made first. The casks that hold it don’t often end up on Islay. For this release, Kilchoman filled 19 Maury butts in 2021 and left the spirit there for the full term of its maturation, no finish, which is rarer than it sounds for wine-cask whiskies. The result is around 15,000 bottles at 50% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural colour: fig, raisin, salted caramel, and orange peel on the nose, with the farm distillery’s characteristic peat smoke underneath rather than competing with it. On the palate, pipe smoke and dark chocolate settle into treacle and dried fruit. Founded in 2005 by Anthony Wills, Kilchoman remains the only working farm distillery on Islay. This is its first release of 2026, and one of the more considered things it has done.
$95 | kilchomandistillery.com