Kilkerran 16 Review

Hi everyone,

Have you ever found yourself really wanting a new whisky? Like really, really wanting it. But it’s limited. Very limited. And so the inevitable hours begin scouring websites for this whisky on and around its release date, only to be minutes (or even seconds) too late every time.

This is very much how I felt about Kilkerran 16. I spent some very stressful hours over the course of three or four days trying to buy a bottle of this. I was obsessive. I would be on my phone almost constantly, hitting refresh over and over again.

I was lucky that my diligence paid off and I found a bottle on Abbey Whisky a few minutes before they sold out.

 

Kilkerran 16 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Like Kilkerran 12yo and Springbank Local Barley had a baby. Let's say the 16yoLB. Very austere in style, stripped back, clean whisky. Can we say old school? I think so. Old papers and books, a touch of fruit, melon maybe, lightly mineral with graphite pencil, some clay, lightly spicy with black pepper, some creamy vanilla. There is a touch of plastic at times though, some wood glue.

Taste: A slightly flat arrival, followed by mineral notes and a mouth-filling texture, plenty of oils, again the old paper, quite dry and blisteringly austere, a touch of orange hidden in there, carbon and a little soot (also carbon I know), old school oak, some creamy vanilla in there but it's pretty swamped by the dryness. Luckily, there's a burst of lovely complex spice in the mid-palate that really brings this together and makes it interesting- green peppercorns, lemon and stem ginger combo, ginseng root, very strong green tea, oily black pepper towards the back end.

Finish: Short/Medium length. The spices stick around, black and green peppercorns, a little ginger, the oak, maybe some heather, maybe some orange. A very small kick of smoke too.

98% Bourbon, 2% Madeira. 2020, 1st Release. Intellectual whisky. Not something you can just mindlessly enjoy, you really have to pay attention to get it. Could be an unpeated 16yo Talisker. Is it good? Yes, yes it is. Was it worth the price? At £60, probably. Was it worth the hours I spent tracking it down, stressing over snatching up a bottle before they could sell out? No, no it wasn't. There are moments of brilliance here, but they don't ever quite come to fruition.

78/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #868

Whisky Network Review #1043

Network Average: 75.2

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

 

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Kilkerran 8CS Sherry 2019 & 15yo Single Cask UK Reviews

Hi everyone,

Kilkerran proved to be one of my new favourites when it first appeared a few years ago now. The 12 and 8yo cask strength really impressed me, while a rum cask sample I got to try (that I assume is still in a cask somewhere) was incredible. The future looked bright…

To celebrate their 15th anniversary, Kilkerran decided to release a load of single casks, all 15 years old to different markets. Other 15 year olds have started appearing in other special editions and have received mixed reviews.

The distillery is not only small, but is barely running at all. I believe they were running 3 months of the year—then it was reduced even further.

Anyway, here’s some new ones.

Kilkerran 8 Cask Strength 2019 57.1%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Chocolate coated cherry, mocha, a bit of rubbery/spicy thing going on, some plastic, dirty orange, a little soot. Nice nose though, despite the off notes. Chilli and liquorice, darker as it opens up.

Water: More soapy.

Taste: Dry, cherry stones, old wood, soot and chilli chocolate, orange and ginger, quite spicy and dry, liquorice, a little soap?

Water: Less spicy, more oils, better balanced but a lot more soap comes out towards the end.

Finish: Long length. Dry spices and wood, chocolate, a bit of soap.

Full eight years in recharred sherry casks. This isn’t actually released yet but is on the way. An odd one. From the notes it probably sounds like it doesn't work but it kinda does. Its good stuff and mixes things up from the usual 8 CS, although I preferred that. This will sell like hot-cakes though with that colour.

77/100

 

Kilkerran 15 Single Cask 53.1%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Plastic sheets, creamy vanilla, austere, light peach, light ash, chalk, more smoke as it opens up, quite peaty for 15 though.

Taste: Smoky initially, austere, a little malt, some orange then spice and malt, more smoke but a little plastic again. Surprisingly peaty.

Finish: Long length. Plastic, orange and malt.

10 years in a Bourbon Puncheon (wait...what?!) then 5 in a refill Hoggie. Exclusive for the UK. A little sharp in places and not what I was expecting, much more peat and more plastic. Think this has already sold out everywhere anyway though.

71/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #796-#797

Whisky Network Reviews #948-#949

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Kilkerran 2004 Rum Cask Sample Review [Swiss Army Man]

Hi everyone,

Got a sample here now from Campbeltown’s newest, oldest distillery (as they style it).

No chance of getting a’hold of this as it’s a cask sample to show off what they can do (and boy, does it!)

This particular cask was matured in a Rum barrel for 12 years and then moved into a neutral oak barrel (because oxidation is nine tenths of the law) until this sample was taken (I assume this is still maturing away).

Kilkerran 2004 Rum Cask Sample 60%approx.

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Wonderfully herbal, spice/herb box, thyme, green peppercorns and rosemary. It’s like stepping into a spice cupboard and herb garden all in one.

Taste: Lovely arrival, chalky, sooty, austere, lemon, increasingly dry, some orange peel, then thyme. More Springbank-y on the taste, similar style anyway.

Finish: Long length. Great transition into more herbal territory, thyme and green peppercorns.

Great stuff, can’t wait to try more Kilkerran, especially as it gets a bit older (imagine an 18yo! shivers) I think it’s going to be fantastic stuff.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #497

Whisky Network Review #573

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Kilkerran 8 Cask Strength, Hazelburn 13 Oloroso & Springbank 21 Reviews

Hi everyone,

I’ve got some new stuff from those dapper fellows at Springbank. They seem to be doing a lot recently with Hazelburn, Springbank, Longrow, kilkerran and a string of releases from Cadenhead’s for their 175th Anniversary.

Needless to say, whisky fans are lapping it up. Mainly because the stuff these guys are releasing is good quality, age stated and reasonably priced. Thank god there’s at least one company left doing us proud.

So, what have they been doing recently? Other than depleting my bank account…

Well, they changed the Springbank packaging slightly (I still can’t decide what I think about them) and now they’ve released a Hazelburn from Sherry casks and an age stated Kilkerran at cask strength. And to top that a new release of their 21yo Springbank.

I got to try all of these at Bristol Whisky Lounge. Many thanks to Grant for the tasters of the Hazelburn and Kilkerran and to Mike for sharing his Springbank 21.

Hazelburn 13 Oloroso 47.1%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Strawberry! Fresh, raspberry sponge cake, quite a bit of oak, soft, mellow and some classic funk.

Taste: Soft, fresh, strawberry and raspberry, again quite a bit of oak, lovely oily mouthfeel, classy salt and some Kilkerran-esque black pepper.

Finish: Medium length. A burst of strawberry, coffee and black pepper and candy floss. Really complex finish.

Cask strength. 2017 release. This is seriously delicious, supremely drinkable whisky.

79/100

Kilkerran 8 Cask Strength 56.2%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Really interesting complex spices. Old school, ash, singed paper, old spice jar that been used for a load of different spices over the years, nutmeg and ginger stand out in particular. Also, slightly floral and white chocolate.

Taste: Soft, spicy, white pepper, then a lovely swell of white peach, lots of salt, then black pepper, that singed paper thing, ash and oak. Great oily mouthfeel too.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Burst of old school ash and complex spices. Lovely.

Bottled 2017. As with the 12, this reminds me of all the great bits of some classic whiskies like Springbank, Talisker and Clynelish. Trumps the 12 though.

79/100

Springbank 21 2017 Release 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Hmmmmm, a little sharp alcohol. But under that it's fruity with honey and black pepper.

Taste: Lovely long arrival and development with spice, complex oak and amazing honey notes.

Finish: Long length. A tropical burst then some oak comes through again.

Didn’t get long with this. Surprised by the sharp nose, but an improvement on the last batch I tasted on a tasting back in 2015.

81/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #348-#350

Whisky Network Review #391-#393

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Kilkerran 12 Review

Hi everyone,

I know some people are probably itching to get their hands on this before it sells out (pretty much already gone in the UK for the moment). After a few drams I thought I'd post up what I think.

So, this is from Glengyle distillery, peated to around 10-15ppm, 30% Sherry casks, 70% Bourbon barrels.

They can't call it Glengyle because the name is copyrighted, but it is Springbank's other Campbeltown distillery they restarted around 2004. Of course, because Springbank are involved everything is old school and traditional.

If you want to learn more about how they make it you can watch their video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB1JJUqrU-8

Kilkerran 12 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Old school, light fruit, red apple, orange oil, old paper, slightly waxy, some heathery outdoorsy smoke, spicy too with cumin and cracked black pepper.

Water: Sea salt, black pepper, soot, red apple. Then zingy lemon.

Taste: Softly fruity, becoming more intense with spice and ash, black pepper, coriander, some orange, honey, very oily and old school, again something waxy.

Water: Sweeter, pink lady apples, something herbal and floral, old books, burnt paper.

Finish: Long. Slightly mouth watering, soot, spice, fruit and some oak.

Notes: Some great aspects of Springbank, Talisker, Clynelish and Highland Park in here.

76/100

Actually if someone gave this to me blind I would have to guess Talisker, there's a great spicy thing that I normally only find in Talisker.

If someone told me it was Springbank before giving me some I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

Now I love Talisker and this reaches the same heights as the best batches of the 10yo but there's something missing here keeping it from true greatness.

It is also very different from the previous Work in Progress bottlings.

Having said that, this was at a fantastic price and a definite buy. I'll be greatly anticipating future releases.

Review #182

Network Average: 74.4

Best Score: 91

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent