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Kilchoman has
revealed the winner of land mark whisky,
Kilchoman Cask No.1
Kilchoman
Distillery has announced the winner of
its prize draw as it marks its 20th
anniversary in 2025. Founded in 2005,
Kilchoman was the first new distillery
to be established on Islay in more than
124 years.
The winner, selected at random from
thousands of entries, will receive
Kilchoman’s first-ever 20-year-old
release. The exceptional whisky was
drawn from Cask No. 1 — the very first
cask filled at the distillery on 14
December 2005 — and bottled exactly 20
years later.
In keeping with Kilchoman’s strong ties
to its island home, the prize draw also
raised funds for local good causes. A
portion of ticket sales will be donated
to Islay charities, including the RNLI
and the Islay & Jura Sick Children’s
Fund, supporting vital community
initiatives.
Anthony Wills, Founder and Managing
Director of Kilchoman Distillery,
commented:
“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.”
The Cask No. 1 bottle is presented in a
handcrafted casing designed to celebrate
whisky-making tradition. Its layered lid
reflects the distillery’s organic
growth, while the box highlights five
key production techniques using paper
sourced from family-owned business GF
Smith.
Engraved on Islay, the bottle features
an illustration of the distillery
skyline and is accompanied by a personal
handwritten note from Anthony Wills,
adding a final detail that underscores
craftsmanship and authenticity.
Henrik Mork, from Oslo, Norway, winner
of the Kilchoman Cask No. 1 prize draw,
said:
“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.”
As Islay’s only distillery to operate a
complete ‘barley to bottle’ philosophy,
Kilchoman has become a distinctive
presence in the island’s whisky
landscape. Founder Anthony Wills and his
wife Kathy moved to Islay in 2004 to
establish the farm distillery,
continuing a family connection to the
island that dates back to the 1930s.
Now run by two
generations of the Wills family,
Kilchoman employs 50 people and exports
whisky to more than 70 countries.
Production capacity has grown from
100,000 to 600,000 litres of alcohol per
year, alongside an increase in barley
production from 100 to 400 tonnes
annually.
The anniversary marks a significant
milestone for the family-owned
distillery, celebrating two decades of
vision, independence, and commitment to
provenance — culminating in the historic
20-year-old Cask No. 1 prize draw.
You will find the current
Kilchoman whisky range available from specialist online whisky
shops such as
The Whisky Exchange
and
Master of Malt
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