Kilchoman has officially launched Rockside, a single farm single malt aged 11 years at 46%. It is the first age statement release in the distillery’s core range and, in Kilchoman’s words, Islay’s only Single Farm Single Malt. It has been available in the UK and Europe since early July 2026, priced at around £55 (roughly $70).
The front label carries a tagline Kilchoman has never used before: Single Farm Single Malt. The barley comes from Rockside Farm, the property Kilchoman bought outright in 2015, and is distilled, malted, peated, matured and bottled on-site. Age statement 11 years, ABV 46%, non-chill filtered, no colour added. The label carries the signatures of Anthony Wills (founder) and Robin Bignal (distillery manager).
On profile, Rockside is lightly peated at 20ppm, well below the 50ppm of Machir Bay and Sanaig: a restrained peating that leaves more room for the barley character. Maturation combines ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
Official tasting notes
From the back label:
- Nose: orange, lemon peel, fragrant elderflower, honeyed sweetness, maritime smoke.
- Palate: citrus, tropical fruits, barley sugars, toffee apple, salted caramel sweetness, subtle peat smoke.
- Finish: butterscotch, walnuts, lingering juicy citrus, stone fruits.
Rockside and 100% Islay, two names for the same idea
The point worth noting is the relationship with the 100% Islay line, the series that since 2011 has told the same story: barley grown and malted on the distillery’s own farm. Every numbered 100% Islay edition has used Rockside-grown barley, starting with Optic (up to 2010), then Publican (from 2011), then Concerto (introduced with the 15th Edition in 2015). Rockside picks up that concept under a standalone identity.
What changes versus the 100% Islay editions: a dedicated name instead of an edition number, an explicit 11-year age statement on the label (100% Islay releases tended to be younger, around 5-9 years old), ABV at 46% rather than the 50% of recent 100% Islay editions, and a natural-paper artwork that sits apart from the rest of the Kilchoman range. The distillery has not confirmed whether Rockside will sit alongside the 100% Islay line or replace it.
Over twenty years in the making, Rockside 11 is the culmination of a journey that began with our first crop of Rockside barley in 2004. Across fifteen 100% Islay releases, we watched the spirit develop, waiting for the right moment to introduce Rockside as a core range expression.
Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder
The thread back to the Family Collection First Edition is clear: the 14 year old in that series is labelled “100% Islay Rockside Barley” and draws from the same grain. Rockside is a different slot in the range, with a tighter age statement, an everyday ABV, and farm-to-bottle branding pushed to the front of the label.
