Kilchoman

Anthony and Kathy Wills created Kilchoman from derelict farm buildings in 2005; the company calls it the first new distillery built on Islay in over 124 years. Their stated aim was to revive farm distilling, with barley grown, malted, distilled, matured and bottled in one place. Their three sons, James, George and Peter, joined the business, and the company's pages describe Anthony as managing director and master distiller.

Companies House shows the Kilchoman Distillery Company incorporated in November 2001. Until 2021 it stated that it had no registrable person with significant control. Since December 2021 an individual has held more than half of the shares and an investment company between a quarter and a half. The opened sources do not explain this change, and the company still presents itself as a family business.

The distillery stands on Rockside Farm near Kilchoman in the west of Islay, close to Machir Bay. The farm covers about 2,300 acres (about 930 ha): blackface sheep graze the hill ground to the south and Aberdeen Angus cattle the machair to the west. Barley is sown in spring, after Islay's migrating geese have gone, and harvested in early September. The company gives both "up to 440 tonnes of barley each year" and "440 acres" of barley land (about 178 ha) on the same page. Peat for the kiln is cut on Islay.

Kilchoman is one of the few distilleries still floor-malting; its team turns about 4 tons of malt by hand 50 weeks a year and peats it with hand-cut Islay peat. The malt rests at least two weeks before milling. Two hand-operated 1.2-tonne mash tuns run daily, and draff goes to the farm's cattle. Fermentation lasts 90 hours. The company calls its stills the smallest on Islay, but the opened pages do not give their number or size.

The main casks are bourbon barrels from the Buffalo Trace distillery in the United States and sherry butts from Bodega Miguel Martin in Spain, with Sauternes, red wine, rum, port, Madeira and Cognac casks for some releases. Every bottle is filled on site, and some are still labelled by hand.

The distillery describes its spirit as joining "earthy, maritime peat smoke" with light floral and citrus notes, and credits the long fermentation with creamy, buttery and fruity notes. Its signature bottling, Machir Bay, combines bourbon and sherry casks with a high share of bourbon barrels; the company's note lists lemon zest, vanilla, peaches and pears, and a finish of maritime peat smoke. The company calls this approach its "100% Islay" philosophy, with every stage from barley to bottle on the farm.