Kilchoman

In 2018 it finished a new malt floor and kiln on the site of the old Rockside Farm cowshed, to malt more of its own barley.^1,4,12 In May 2019 a second stillhouse doubled capacity, adding exact copies of the 2005 stills, a mash tun, where hot water draws sugar from malt, and more washbacks.^1,7,8 A new visitor centre and café opened in 2020.¹

In January 2022 Barclays agreed a £22.5 million funding package, and work began on a new warehouse.¹³ Kilchoman aimed to make 40% more whisky within the next 12 months.¹³ Buffalo Trace had been its only source of bourbon barrels since 2005, until a supply problem in 2023 made it look elsewhere.^5,14 Its first barrels from Breckenridge Distillery in Colorado arrived in March 2023.^5,14 In September 2025 it was making 650,000 litres a year around the clock, but had shelved a planned investment to raise capacity.¹⁵

Peat smoke is measured in the malted barley in parts per million, or ppm: its own malt is about 20 ppm and its bought malt 50 ppm.^4,5,16 Fermentation lasts 90 hours, which the distillery calls the longest on Islay.^3,4,8 Its washbacks are stainless steel.⁴ It has 2 wash stills and 2 spirit stills, split between 2 identical stillhouses.^5,8 Steam heats the stills, and shell and tube condensers turn the vapour back into spirit.^4,8 The spirit stills have very tall, narrow necks and a boil ball, which makes the vapour touch more copper.⁴