Whisky Review: Kilkerran 12 Year

Kilkerran, otherwise known as Glengyle, has been leading up to this moment since the distillery was first opened in 2004. The Work in Progress series chronicled the development of the spirit, all with an eye towards a 12 Year set for 2016 that would establish a regular, standard release. Given the quality of the WIPs, this were rather high expectations for this.

This is bottled at the standard 46% without coloring or chill filtration.

Thanks to Michael Kravitz for the sample.

Kilkerran 12 Year

Nose: earthy/pine-y peat, coastal, fresh herbs/pine, old motor oil, leather, dry malt, sherry, soy sauce, and cured meat around the edges, vanilla and bourbon cask. After adding a few drops of water it becomes softer, with the malt balancing the peat, some treated lumber notes come out, and the sherry is mostly pushed into the background.

Taste: opens with moderate malt sweetness backed by leather, which slowly transforms into dry peat from the middle back, sherry, vanilla, and black pepper in the background. After dilution it remains largely the same, with some acidity coming out and maybe a little less punch and definition.

Finish: a little sharp, malt, peat, a touch of sherry and oak

The good: this is an extremely competent Campbeltown malt at a respectable price that isn't a special/limited edition. I think it's a worthy match for Springbank 10 Year and might get the nod from me over the other entry-level malts from its sister distillery next door. The bad: it feels less unique than previous releases in the WIP series, which had character that clearly set them apart from Springbank. In other words, it's good, but it's sort of generically Campbeltown good. Blind I might have pegged it as either Springbank or Glen Scotia. Water does it no favors, stripping down a lot of the complexity and leaving it even more generic.

So while this is a perfectly good whisky that I would have no compunction about drinking, it's also not one that I particularly want a whole bottle of. Thankfully there is also an 8 year old, cask strength Kilkerran hitting the market which I have somewhat higher hopes for.

Whisky Review: Kilkerran WIP #7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength

Glengyle distillery, one of the three remaining distilleries in Campbeltown, has been releasing a series of single malts over the last handful of years under the Work in Progress moniker. This has given fans a way to experience the distillery's output as it grows older in preparation for an official 12 Year slated for August 2016. The seventh release last year was nominally the last in the series and the only one so far to release anything at full strength, rather than 46%. It sold out rather quickly in Europe and has become fairly hard to find in the US, despite previous releases languishing on shelves for years. Let's see if it lives up to the hype.

This whisky was presumably distilled in 2004, filled into ex-bourbon casks, then bottled at 54.1% without coloring or chill filtration.

Thanks to Florin for the sample.

Kilkerran WIP #7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength

Nose: big, rich, and dirty - lots of earthy Glengyle character with a slightly funky lactic edge, gentle mossy peat and floral notes, American oak caramel/oak/vanilla, cinnamon, sautéed mushrooms, cured meat, orange peel, raspberry. After adding a few drops of water the malt takes center stage, the peat becomes more herbal, some chocolate comes out.

Taste: malt/wood sweetness throughout, gentle oak tannins, thick berry notes, and mossy peat come in around the middle, and black pepper near the back. After dilution the sweetness becomes more clearly malt-based, the peat tones down a bit, and some fizzy floral notes come out at the back.

Finish: mild peat, sweet malt, a tannic edge, classic Campbeltown character, gingerbread

Yup, that's what I was looking for. While this has far more cask influence than the WIP #3 I tried a while back, it retains a lot of that spirit-driven character that I love about Glengyle. While clearly a Campbeltown malt and related to Springbank, I've been impressed that the Kilkerran releases I've tried have managed to maintain their own unique character. This bodes well for the distillery's future and makes me hope that they'll continue to release younger full strength malts in addition to the upcoming 12 Year.

Whisky Review: Kilkerran Work in Progress #3

Kilkerran is the product of Glengyle, the third and smallest distillery in Campbeltown. I got a chance to visit the distillery when I was in Campbeltown last summer, so I've been quite interested to try more of their whisky.

The stills at Glengyle only fired up for the first time in 2004, so they have been releasing whisky under the 'Work in Progress' moniker over the last few years as a lead-up to a proper 12 year old - which should be coming in another few years. This particular release was #3 in the series (it's a little bit aggravating that the only way to tell them apart is subtle changes in label color), which was released in 2011.

As with all whiskies under the Mitchell family's ownership, this whisky is bottled without chill-filtration and at their minimum strength of 46%. As I so frequently do, I tried this one at the Highland Stillhouse.

Kilkerran WIP #3

Nose: gingerbread, maritime notes, not much smoke, gently malty, hints of new make, nutmeg, coal, a vegetal edge, blackberries. After adding a few drops of water, the maritime notes became much stronger, there was a lot more peat and it seemed earthier, while the gingerbread became an undertone.

Taste: not very sweet, a bit cardboard-y, very light peat smoke and oak, piney new make at the back, very creamy malt, dry ginger and nutmeg. After dilution, the peat grew stronger and stretched throughout the palate, there was more bourbon barrel influence and caramel, it became earthier and more malty, with a little bit of plastic popping out.

Finish: vegetal peat, creamy malt, a bit of bittersweet oak, hints of new make

I think this may be the first time that my own tasting notes closely match a distillery's published tasting notes for a whisky. The gingerbread notes were strong and a very nice complement to the peat and maritime elements. It was still clearly a young whisky (obviously no more than seven years old) and from bourbon casks, but it was still rather mature for its age and presages good things to come. I currently have the more recent WIP #5 Bourbon and Sherry Wood releases, which I'm looking forward to comparing.