I picked this up at an auction last year, very eager to try what was at least marketed as outside the Peat in Progress range having enjoyed those significantly.
Kilkerran 5 Heavily Peated Tasting Week May 2021, Campbeltown Single Malt, 58.2% ABV
Minutia: Matured for 5 years in fresh Oloroso hogsheads and bottled on March 30, 2021. Enjoyed need in a glencairn.
I quite like it; the Sherry casks did a lot for this. It has everything I enjoy about the Peat in Progress expressions I’ve had, but feels more like a proper expression.
Batch 1 was one of the more enjoyable whiskies I’ve had. It wasn’t so much that I decided to try every batch until the stock comes of age for a regular expression, but it looks like I just about will be.
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 4, Campbeltown Single Malt, 58.6% ABV
Minutia: Vatted from a selection comprised of 80% ex-bourbon casks and 20% ex-Sherry casks. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Finish: Some coffee-like malt with a bit of spice. Medium
Still really good, though not a revelation as Batch 1 was for me. Reaffirms my excitement for a proper heavily peated release that nobody will be able to buy for less than $200 even if it’s somehow terrible.
I picked this up at an auction for probably far more than it would warrant at the actual shop, but this stuff goes fast and I don’t even have access to it in the States. I was curious about checking out some IB Kilkerran, particulary a Cadenhead’s bottling as it’s the same owner.
Nose: Malt, unscented wax, a bit antiseptic, actually some of the tangerine the tin notes mention. Some vanilla later.
Taste: Fruity, a kick, honey. Sour malt.
Finish: Honey and nutty. Tropical fruit melee. Salty. Long. A maltiness lingers on after the rest.
While it’s not my favorite Kilkerran, it does quite nicely given my preference for smoky flavors. I’ve grown to appreciate maltiness more, and this has that to some extent throughout, which I quite enjoyed. I was a bigger fan of the fruit, though, they were fun.
Score: 83
Musical Evocation: Lisa Hannigan – “Roads” (live Portishead cover)
I happened to be placing an order when they had some of this so I went for it because batch 1 was so good. I happened to have some Batch 1 still around, so figured it would be fun to note a comparison while doing this review.
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 2, Campbeltown Single Malt, 60.9% ABV
Minutia: Matured in 55% ex-Bourbon casks and 45% ex-Sherry casks, the same makeup as batch 1. Bottled in September 2019.
Nose: Mouthwatering buttery shortbread type cookie very big at first. Getting past that there’s a funk that’s of a swirling nature, going between smoky, salty, chocolatey, and cheesy, and various combinations thereof.
Batch 1 is quite similar and less on that buttery cookie. The funk is a pretty stable earthy smoky funk.
Taste: Taste of funnel cake (without or with very little powdered sugar), smoke, hot feel, think.
Batch 1 is similar, replace funnel cake with earthy. Batch 2 drinks at its ABV whereas 1 felt well below, though in a side by side having sipped the Batch 2 the Batch 1 feels hotter than it was on its own.
Finish: Spicy, salty, oaky. Medium-long to long.
Batch 1 is less long, bit of an earthier quality. Saltier than I remember, possibly from Batch 2 influence. Not pure salt, there’s a bitterness to it.
I don’t know that I’d consider it part of the finish proper since it was so long after that typical “finish” sensation and felt like it came back after my palate went back to neutral for a while, but I was tasting that buttery cookie nearly an hour after a sip of Batch 2. It didn’t appear in the flavor in the way it did in the nose - it manifested as funnel cake there - and wasn’t really in the finish, but after a while I felt as if I’d recently eaten a cookie that tasted the way this smelled.
It was nice to do these together. The first dram I had left me feeling like it was quite far off from the first batch, but having them together, they really are quite similar. Batch 1 really moved me in a way this one didn’t as a whole, but some of the individual elements I liked more in Batch 2. That cookie in the nose is terrific, and Batch 1 only hints at it. It’s not constant in Batch 2, but when it’s there it’s there in a big way. And that phantom cookie recurrence really shifted my enjoyment of this up enough where it’s just shy of Batch 1 whereas without it I’d hold Batch 1 a clear notch above 2. Another great release by Kilkerran still leaving me as eager if not moreso to jump ahead to the time this becomes regular with a good amount of age.
Score: 91
Musical Evocation: Metallica – “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”
I finally stumbled across a sample of this while placing an order, something I had been hoping to find since enjoying Kilkerran Heavily Peated and the 12. Pretty highly regarded, let’s see how I liked it.
Kilkerran 8 Cask Strength, Campbeltown Single Malt, 55.7% ABV
Minutia: Bottled in 2017 after maturing in Bourbon casks for a 9000 bottle batch. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Not much to say here. My first exposure to this distillery was the Heavily Peated Batch 1. I adored it and trying more from that distillery became something I wanted to do, so I got their standard bottle.
Kilkerran 12, Campbeltown Single Malt, 46% ABV
Minutia: Matured in ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks, 70% and 30%, respectively. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Taste: Sherry fruitiness (dry), orange peel, kind of like those not very flavorful cookies a bit.
Finish: Earthy, musty, a bit funky. Salty.
My expectations were super high for this one, so I think I was bound to experience disappointment when it wasn’t life changing. But it wasn’t disappointing in its own right. I don’t think I’d buy it for what it costs in my area, but if I’m ordering from Europe and somehow have room at home, I’d definitely get it for $40. I liked the Heavily Peated version much more, and imagining that with a maturity closer to this is rather mouth watering.
This was recommended to me on two different reviews based on the fact that I like peat. This is my first Campbeltown that I’ve had more than a glass of so I’m excited for that. I’ve been looking into trying more from that region as the reviews I’ve been reading seem really in line with what I like. Let’s see how much merit those recommendations had. Also, I’ve seen at least one reviewer give an SMWS name, so I’m going to start trying that for kicks, at least when I’m feeling creative.
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 1, Campbeltown Single Malt, 59.3% ABV
Minutia: This particular batch contains distillate matured in 55% ex-Bourbon barrels and 45% ex-Sherry casks. There’s no age statement but I’ve seen around the web that this batch is a bit over 3 years old.
Nose: Earthy smoke, a funk in that vein, bready, ethanol, vague apple, sometimes banana-ish. A candy-like fruitness develops after a while.
Taste: Oily, vegetal, smoky, hot, maritime salt.
Finish: Bigger smoke, an earthy quality, maybe more of an earthy smoke rather than distinct flavors. Medium.
I was I love with this from the first pour, if I’m being honest. Every aspect of it appealed to me. To me, this goes down as easily as a 40% whisky, with the flavor of 60%. It’s a pretty dangerous pour as you just want more as you go. I liked it so much I wanted to keep it around for a while, but that’s going to be tough. Assuming as they get closer to the final product, it will get better, that is going to be a staple for me. I’m satisfied with this to not go out of my way to try the future “in progress” batches (love that Glengyle is doing that with their Kilkerran expressions, by the way) unless there’s something unique about a batch like a finish or something, but if I see them in a store I’ll be buying them.
