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Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Kilkerran Work In Progress, Second Release (re-review)

I often thought of Kilkerran WIP #2 (gray label) as my favorite whisky of the Work In Progress series, with #5 Bourbon Wood and #7 Bourbon Wood as its main competitors. Then I went through a bottle, finding it very good but not astounding. Then during the final in-person Columbus Scotch Night event of the pre-Covid era (technically, February 2020), the group tried the whisky alongside two other Kilkerrans, and I had the same sensory response: very good, but not nearly as amazing as I'd once thought it was. I took home a sample of the whisky from that bottle, saving it for some unknown evening.

That unknown evening has arrived tonight. Work In Progress #1 has been poured as well, in order to provide perspective.

Distillery: Glengyle
Owner: Mitchell's Glengyle Limited
Brand: Kilkerran
Region: Campbeltown
Age: ~6 years (2004 - 2010)
Maturation: bourbon and sherry casks (I think)
Label color: Gray
Limited release: 15,000 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a added? No
(from an event bottle)

NEAT

Ah there's the nose I always look forward to. Dead leaves, soil, wet concrete, a hint of engine grease on one level; fresh peaches, lychee candy and white gummy bears on another; with dark chocolate and mild seaweedy peat joining them together. Its palate reads much calmer than WIP1's. In fact it's comparatively austere. Salt and herbal bitterness frame barley, hay, earth and lemons. A tiny bit of sweetness appears much later on. It finishes with barley, lemons, soil and bitter herbs.

I've never added water to WIP2 before, but I'm going to try a few drops now to see if it opens anything up.

DILUTED to ~43%abv, or 2mL of water per 30mL whisky

The nose feels more closed than opened now. Less peat, less fruit, more dark chocolate. The palate gets much sweeter. Most of the character vanishes, leaving behind some oranges and salt, which is how it finishes as well. So don't do this.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Yeah, don't add water, instead appreciate the palate for being lean, focused and oak-free. As you can probably tell, I still find the nose gorgeous gorgeous, as if it were from a whisky era earlier than this one. That must be the romantic idea I held onto for so long, a sturdy old school autumn malt. I still enjoy this whisky, but when my final bottle of WIP2 is opened, it will be accepted for what it is.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - $54.99 in May 2013
Rating - 88