Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2017 (Third take)

It's been a while since I got my hands on a nice bottling from Kilchoman... this was originally supposed to the 4th edition of 100% Islay, but the liquor store called and told me they had to substitute Loch Gorm instead. No problem, they are all interesting! This one is matured in sherry casks and rather heavily peated to produce the ultimate Islay sherry bomb (sorry, Uigeadail). Bottled at 46% ABV, uncolored, non-chill-filtered. Aged about 7 years. 

Nose: This smells EXACTLY like BBQ sauce, with a few other flavors floating around. The very first whiff is strong apple and orange... then BBQ sauce... then a rather unattractive glue-like phenolic fragrance that reminded me of Hakushu. Then young rubber. Some ash.  Then BBQ sauce again. The sherry and peat are perfectly integrated into a BBQ whole. Overall... too much BBQ influence here. If you let it sit a long time, the other flavors come back: wispy smoke, bitter orange, damp mossy peat. But they are always submissive to the dominant BBQ sauce element. I really hoped for more subtle sherry influences: raisins, plums, caramel, etc. But no dice, this time around. 

Mouthfeel: Incredibly thick and oily. 

Palate: The BBQ sauce from the nose follows through and dominates here. It's like drinking BBQ sauce at 46% alcohol content. This is both a good and bad thing - I really wish there were more dimensions here, but it's rather unidimensional, however rich that dimension is. I occasionally get thin smoke, and sometimes that ugly glue scent, and the rubber scent, but mostly those are pushed to the ground by the BBQ bum rush. If you let the glass sit for a long time, the BBQ notes fade a little bit and you get a more complex arrangement, a la Uigeadail. But it's pale. 

Finish: Long finish with lots of peat smoke and the after-fade of sherry stone fruit (specifically prunes). 

Verdict: This is only barely worth the sale price I picked it up for. Despite my enjoyment of two Loch Gorm bottles from the same year, this particular bottle is not one of Kilchoman's best offerings (for reference see: Machir Bay, or the Sauternes Finish), this is probably my least favorite bottle I've opened from them. I suppose they are a bit inconsistent in this time frame.