Islay’s Kilchoman Distillery has announced the winner of the prize draw for its first-ever 20-year-old release, drawn from the very first cask filled at the family-owned Islay farm-distillery.
Established in 2005, when it became the first new distillery to be established on the famed whisky island in over 124 years, Kilchoman has marked its 20th anniversary with a prize draw raising funds for local Islay charities, including the RNLI and Islay & Jura Sick Children’s Fund.
The winner, chosen at random from thousands of tickets sold, was revealed to be Henrik Mork, from Oslo, Norway, who will now receive what is described as an ‘exceptional’ whisky drawn from Kilchoman’s Cask No. 1, the very first cask filled on 14 December 2005 and bottled exactly 20 years later.
Founder and managing director of Kilchoman Distillery, Anthony Wills, said: “Over the years, we’ve released three individual bottles from Cask No. 1 at three, ten, and seventeen years of age, raising over £20,000 for Scottish charities.
“It’s our honour to donate a portion of the proceeds from this prize draw to charities here on Islay, including RNLI and Islay & Jura Sick Children’s Fund, who play a vital role in our community.”
Wills and his wife Kathy moved to Islay in 2004 to build the farm distillery, adhering to a ‘barley to bottle’ philosophy, and continuing a family connection that dates back to the 1930s when Kathy’s grandparents first settled on the island.
Kilchoman remains ‘proudly independent’ and run by two generations of the Wills family, with Anthony, Kathy, and their sons George, James, and Peter managing every aspect from production to global sales.
Its team has grown from five to 50 employees, and Kilchoman whisky is now available in over 70 countries. To meet this global demand, the distillery has increased its production capacity from 100,000 litres of alcohol per year to 600,000 litres, while expanding the farm’s barley production from 100 to 400 tonnes per year.
The family’s ‘unwavering commitment to provenance’ culminates in the historic 20-year-old Cask No. 1 bottle, presented in a handcrafted casing that pays homage to the art of whisky making, created using paper sourced from fellow family business GF Smith.
Engraved on Islay, the glass bottle features the distillery skyline and is accompanied by a personal note from Wills himself.
Draw winner Mork commented: “I can’t quite believe I have won such a historic bottle of Kilchoman. It was only by chance that I ended up visiting the distillery when I was on Islay.
“I just couldn’t resist entering the prize draw after learning the story behind Kilchoman’s unique farm distillery and seeing the stunning bottle and box on display.”
