Kilchoman is launching a new series, Family Casks 1st Edition, on Kilchoman Day, 28 May 2026, during Fèis Ìle. The first edition spans four expressions from 11 to 20 years old, with the 20 year old the oldest Kilchoman ever shipped to retailers.
The opening image is an AI-generated mockup, reconstructed from the official release labels. Photos of the actual bottle are not yet available.
The four releases
The line opens with the 11 year old, matured in ex-Sherry Butts at 54.7%, drawn from heavily peated barley (50ppm) sourced from Port Ellen Maltings. The 14 year old is the only 100% Islay Rockside Barley in the lot: distilled in 2011 from barley grown and malted on-site at 20ppm, matured in ex-Bourbon Barrels and bottled at 50.9%. Completing the first edition are an 18 year old in ex-Bourbon Barrels at 50%, and a 20 year old in ex-Bourbon Barrels at 49.9%, the latter again from 50ppm Port Ellen-malted barley, like the 11 and the 18.
Each label carries the signatures of Anthony Wills, founder, and Robin Bignal, distillery manager. All bottles are distilled, matured and bottled at the distillery, non-chill filtered and with no added colour.
The Family Casks name reflects the distillery’s identity: Kilchoman is Islay’s farm distillery, the only one on the island that grows and malts its own barley (the Rockside Barley in the 14 year old comes from here), founded by Anthony Wills in 2005 and still family-run today, with Wills’ sons involved in operations. The annual selection is curated personally by the family, and every label carries the selectors’ signatures. The 1st Edition tag leaves the door open to future editions.
Stepping up the age statements
Kilchoman started distilling in December 2005, so a 20 year old sits at the very edge of what the warehouse can offer today. The 1st Edition is also the first Kilchoman block where the 14 year old 100% Islay Rockside Barley sits alongside three releases produced from Port Ellen-malted barley, a rare side-by-side between in-house grown grain and externally sourced malt at comparable ages.
The series marks Kilchoman’s structural step into longer-aged peated whisky, with the 20 year old as a milestone for a distillery just turning twenty. Runs of older Kilchoman releases are historically tight, so anyone after one of the four expressions should keep an eye on retailers and the distillery shop around 28 May.
