Distillery: Glengyle
Owner: Mitchell's Glengyle Limited
Brand: Kilkerran
Region: Campbeltown
Age: 15 years (May 2004 - October 2019)
Maturation: refill bourbon hogshead
Outturn: 324 bottles
Bottled for: United Kingdom
Alcohol by Volume: 53.1%
(from a bottle split)
NEAT
Three very nice strata form the nose. Level 1: Medicinal peat + yeast. Level 2: Guava + Grapefruit. Level 3: Honey, cinnamon, and vanilla bean. After 20 minutes, it gains hints of farm and light blue Mr. Sketch markers. That forest-y Kilkerran peat leads the palate, and is met by tart limes, canned peaches, and a bit of umami, with moments of soot and cinnamon in the background. Savory smoke, tart oranges, and antiseptic finish things off.
DILUTED to ~46%abv, or >1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose gets lighter and prettier, with white peaches, honey, and cinnamon to counter the farmy peat. The palate becomes simpler and sweeter. Apricots and lemons. Wood smoke and pink peppercorns. It finishes with lemony smoke and honey.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
This is the best Kilkerran I've had in nearly four years, and certainly one of their top all-bourbon-cask releases that's sat in my glass. It has the great fruits, a slight youthful fight, and different phenolic angles, while also taking dilution very well. If you doubt me, please see Sir Opinions's review here. We are correct.
