I didn't like my last bottle. | Kilchoman Machir Bay REVIEW 

I just have my first machir bay bottle today. I bought it due to your high score review and I love it a lot. Cheer!!!

I had this a couple of years ago. I agree with all the flavours you mentioned except the peach stuff! What I tasted straight away from the first sip was marzipan! It's a viscous dram. Really liked it

I've had a bottle of Machir Bay from 2019. Very nice dram. Not as nice as Port Charlotte 10, Ardbeg 10 or Ledaig 10 as it is significantly younger but still, competent, characterful and nicely presented. Haven't tasted the Sanaig yet. Compared to the Wee Beastie which is of similar age I prefer Machir Bay. I found Wee Beastie to have richer flavor profile but compared to Machir Bay the delivery of the said profile is weaker, somewhat anemic even, despite the slightly higher ABV. In Bulgaria Machir Bay can be had for ~36 euros so it is very, very good value too. BTW I have a bottle of the Machir Bay Cask Strength in the stash but haven't come around to open it yet. So many whiskies to be tasted, so little time ... Cheers!

It's a great dram, my go too these days 👍

I was a little confused by the packaging, and I thought I was buying the more sherried one, so I think they could be a little clearer about that on the box. But I do like the Machir Bay a lot. I think it's up there with Lagavulin 16 and Port Charlotte 10 for Islays that are somewhat refined feeling. This does have a bit of a young bite to it, which is to be expected from an NAS whisky.

I had a Cadenhead Cao Ila 12 and loved it at 46%! Based on your review, sir, I’ll pick up this expression.

Very descriptive. Excited about my unopened bottle now 😂

Great review i love this whisky from kilchoman first dram was at whisky show in Budapest now one of my favourite go to bottle

Label matches your shirt. Amazing fantasy thoughts :-)! I like it too. Glad that I bought this one instead of the Sanaig.

Hey Geoff. My bottle of Machir Bay is older, May 2015, but I get similar notes to you and I rate it similarly. I also have the cask strength 58.6% bottling from August 2020, not opened yet. I like the Sanaig and the - now expensive - Loch Gorm as well. Kilchoman is doing things the right way, for sure.

I do love Kilchoman whisky but I have not tried the Machir bay yet. The Sanaig and Loch Gorm are both amazing. At least the bottles I have. Also, I can't unsee the "finishing pull" since you pointed it out. Ya can't stop it now though. 🤣

Hi Geoff, this is becoming my personal favourite (I just buy affordable stuff...) When I bought PC10, wich is 10€ more, I thought it was unbeatable, but at the moment every time I have this I find it amazing. It has a distinct liquorice/anis seeds flavour to me plus the perfect amount of peat/sweet ratio, I love it! And I really like the Kilchoman's "field to bottle" approach.

Just picked up a bottle of this one. Instant classic for me. Jumped over Lag 16, Ardbeg 10, Laphroig 10 CS and PC 10 for me. Still behind Ledaig 10. Ashy, citrus, briny for me.

Great review ..as usual I know Kilchoman is nice stuff on your recommends I have Sanaig and Loch Gorm which I appreciate …occasionally , but just not into peat/ smoke right now . Keep up the great reviews 👍

Hah, I like Machir Bay! It also reminds me of Caol ila 12, but stronger and with some funky/farmy note. I like flavor profile of Caol ila 12 and Laph 10, and Machir Bay just shows how important abv is. When doing side by side comparison, lower abv brings watery feeling and kill the vibe even its flavor profile is good.

A farm surrounded by peat. Imo this sounds like a Longrow Peated review. 😉 Good review btw, as always.

Great review and honest rating Geoff. I have Sanaig but been on the fence for Machir Bay due to some inconsistencies being mentioned. It sounds like that's changing now at Kilchoman. I may consider getting a bottle.

Excellent review, Geoff. Kilchoman is the one Islay malt I have not yet tried, but it's on my list. Not sure which expression I will go for when the time comes. But your review here is really encouraging.

Again! Spot on my opinion. I have been back and forth about Machir Bay and Sanaig but in the end I think they are equally good and the best easy to get, affordable Islay whisky. My Machir Bay is 75% Bourbon and 25% Sherry, opposite to Sanaig. I think they changed the recipe. Have you tried the cask strength Machir Bay? It is one of, if not THE best Kilchoman I have (20+). Am Burach is also great. Nice video and analogy to the farm by the sea 😁

I agree 100 %, , Geoff, great review as always, cheers

Great review! For your next videos can you do one about 10 whiskeys you should try before u die ? I mean 10 best whiskeys in your opinion u ever had! No limit about the price.

Geoff you really nailed the description 👏 and I do like this kilchoman expression

No need to apologise for flights of fancy - when in a meditative mood, flavours can be very evocative; besides landscapes, there are some fanciful images that come to my mind - like on first tasting Laphroaig, it smelled/tasted to me like a wet Labrador (dog) walking down a hospital corridor (!). With Talikser, I got rocks (minerality) with sea water (saltiness) washing over them, near a cottage with wispy peat smoke coming from the chimney. In a flight, in the depths of the evening, sometimes bottles can have a personality (character) just like people, almost like they spring arms and legs and talk to you, like you are meeting a new friend for the first (or nth) time. [By the way, knowing how little we all really care about pronunciation, I will say that I heard somewhere that Caol Ila semi-rhymes with Tequila - so take that (or don't) for what it's worth ;)].

I appreciate the natural colour and non-chill filtered but it tasted like a smoky old book for me.

Tried the Machir Bay first & loved it. As I am a big fan of Sherry finishes thought I would try the Sanaig. I dont know whether I got a bad bottle or is it supposed to taste like that? I found the colour off putting as well....a very bright red colour. I am not risking my hard earned to try another one as its very expensive in New Zealand.

Had it last weekend. Found it very iodine and citrusy. Fun whiskey to have. Even my wife liked it and she doesn't drink whiskey. Looking forward to trying port Charlotte 10. 😊

Really powerfull juice from islay. I really like it!

I'll have a look at this at some point but then the new Loch Gorm will come out :-) Being honest , at the moment for value Ledaig 10 and Port Charlotte 10 take some beating. Nice one Geoff.

I just enjoyed this one ok, but the cask strength version blew me away - so damn good! Cheers.

My bottle Sanaig was fantastic. I havn’t bought the Machir Bay since it gets mixed reviews. Might buy a miniture bottle just to give it a try. Find it great that many brands are available as minis, actually and plan to buy more as to widen my experience for less $.

Hi Geoff, have had a couple of machir bay’s (not for a while though) and as far as I can remember its a pretty damn decent entry level whisky. Each to their own Geoff but for me I’d put Ardbeg 10 for machir bay but port charlete before Ardbeg 10!! Slàinte Geoff. P.S nice farmyard Fantasy.👍

Hi Geoff ! I trid it only Kilchoman Sanaig , it's very good whisky , very liked ! Cheers )

Great review! I agree 100% with everything you said in it. I bought a bottle of Sanaig and Machir Bay recently, and the Machir Bay is much richer in my opinion. It is indeed a solid typical Islay whiskey.

The very first Whiskey I had in Scotland on the royal mile was this! And it’s incredible!

Cheers

Geoff, you will soon be commissioned by the SMWS to name their bottlings. "Lemon orchards on fresh tarmac". Impressive! The Machir Bay is good, but has a lot of batch variation. A good introduction to Kilchoman but needs some oomph. I actually prefer Wee Beastie over this because it develops more layers and has a unique signature. Better than the Caol Ila 12 and the recent bottlings of Ardbeg 10, I would have to agree.

Where does this "black pepper, vanilla, caramel, strawberry´s, dark chocolate, white chocolate, coffee, peaches, green apples etc etc etc" in whisky tastings come from originally? When I taste whisky all I taste is diferent kind of whisky flavors, under diferent kind of influences such as peat or sherry etc. I actually never taste anything like strawberry´s or dark chocolate in there.

Just got this on sale for $53 usd. Can’t wait to try it because it sounds pretty good. Also loved that farm story.

Sounds great! Now I'm curious. I might pick up a barrel/store pick of the Machir Bay in the future then. Or should I stick to the "core" version?

jeff i have been drink a few bottles of whisky over the year (glenlivet illict still, tomatin 18yo, walker blue label, suntory toki, glengoyne cs batch 8,etc I am still struggling to analyse the whisky (nose, palate and finish) should i try something more simple or what can you recommend for me :( Thanks

I want to like Kilchoman more than I actually do. I just don't think the price-quality value is that great, but I'm generally willing to subsidize these smaller distilleries...to a point, and they're right at that point. As for the bottle, cork & box, it's handsome, but too ornate for a new distillery's entry-level offering, and boxes are entirely unnecessary & wasteful in 2022; I honestly wonder what those things add to the cost? Seriously, I know you're overseas and may not have access to some of these, but there are NAS Islay Mystery Malts @ 46% available in the USA, like $28 Islay Gold Lorcan or $35 Scarabus, which are every bit as enjoyable in the glass as this artisanal malt IMHO ✌️

Great review - have you tried the Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength? it's about 15% more than the regular at the SAQ! how is it?

Buenas gente, fantásticos Review's!! Felicitaciones Bro tanto este como el del Sanaig!! Consulta, con cual de las 2 versiónes te quedas si tuvieras que elegir una, con el Machir Bay o con el Sanaig? Abrazo 🥃🥃

Having had the Caol Ila 12 next to the Macir Bay, they are not similar and Caol Ila smelt of dead fish in a bait bucket

Have tried this in a bar but wasn't sufficiently impressed to buy a bottle. At the price, it's in the same bracket as Caol Ila IBs such as the Signatory NCF one. Similar style but you're getting a decent age statement with those. Quick question Geoff - would you take the Kilchoman Sanaig or Talisker Distiller's Edition. I'm hovering over one or the other for my next purchase.

Just found a bottle for $40! I enjoy your reviews... even if you spell our name wrong! 😂🤙🏼

How the hell do you get fishing net on palate ? 🤣

Never tried this distillery. I don't think it was ever on the radar for me. I am not the biggest peated scotch guy. I have tried Laphroaig 10 and ledaig10 but not much else.

"Fishing net note"?!?!?

I love Kilchoman whiskey, but this one doesn't impress me 👋🏻

I buy this whiskey for the first time. It was $62. It is more expensive than black label. I thought it will be good but it was worst whiskey. All mine three friend hated the smell and taste. Wasted $63 bucks. It smell like ammonia almost make me puke.

Sorry it Wasn't my cup of tea?It smells like rubber tires mate

You look like an AI bot…. Too much filter

Nice depiction of your fantasy. It really set the stage. And thanks for not taking it any further with the neighbour’s wife wearing a loose fitting bathrobe….

Very nice 🙂