Kilkerran 8yo 2022 Port & Sherry Casks
Official Bottlings| 2022 Releases
Score: 6/10
Good Stuff.
TL;DR
A faithful combination from Campbeltown.
Worth The Queue?
Is there an air of expectation when you sit down with a new Kilkerran? In my mind, I do believe this is now the case. I’ve been following this distillery for longer than I care to remember and advising everyone to try the whisky. Now, I’m relieved of those duties and free to indulge in my own whiskies and don’t need to say, “Hey, check this out.” You all know about Kilkerran and that’s cool, especially if you’re in it for the drinking experience.
So, if you managed to grab either of these eight year old releases then plaudits to you. I was successful, although these reviews come from samples kindly provided by Max. I have the bottles at home – I just haven’t got around to opening them. I could direct you to Archibald’s commentary on putting bottles aside for moments that never come and it’s perfectly identifiable. But here, I just like to finish what Kilkerran I have open before breaking the seal on another… and I have four bottles open as it is.
Let the hype and rush fade away before diving in. The energy that some individuals produced chasing down these releases is admirable, as is their tenacity. You’d think there was a victory parade at the end for the winners. Except this is whisky and the end game should always be a pour to explore, whether on your own or with friends.
Recently there have been some Kilkerran bottlings that are more wood focused in their appeal to the masses. These releases don’t sing as well as they once used to in my opinion. Maybe that’s just me and I don’t try to subscribe to the rose-tinted glasses that some enthusiasts cling to when discussing whisky; those days are no more and that’s fact. I’ve done my bit and managed to acquire a handful of these releases and pass them on to those who missed out for retail price. That’s something I like to do in an effort to stem the tide of flipping. I know it doesn’t make an ounce of difference to the general trend, which grows sizeably with each passing release. Even so, knowing that someone else out there can have the experience means more than a quick buck.
Both of these eight year olds when revealed, caused a great deal of excitement before landing at retail. I believe the original plan was to marry the port and sherry casks together for an epic outturn, but the team then thought both cask types turned out well enough to warrant their own bottlings. I reckon regardless of whatever option they selected; we’d still be in the same quagmire of trying to find a bottle. Due to this, it struck me that the best approach was to review these side-by-side and bring in someone that really tries to live up to my grumpiness. There’s no doctrine and like Fight Club you just don’t talk about it. But I know those that try to replicate and I appreciate it, thank you.
Based on my experiences I find that Kilkerran works best in ex-bourbon. The other cask types are mere window dressing and pleasant distractions. Yes, sometimes things work out rather well occasionally, but I’m still a staunch believer in the power of a humble bourbon cask. With such a strong, robust and distinctive distillate, let it sing. Anyway, I’m determined to make this a funk-free article.
“An independent family-owned company. It is the owner of Springbank Distillery, which also produces the Longrow and Hazelburn malts. A subsidiary company, Mitchell’s Glengyle Ltd, owns and runs the new Glengyle distillery, which produced its first spirit in 2004. Both companies are run under the guidance of Hedley Wright, a descendant of the Mitchell family, the original owners of both Springbank and the previous Glengyle distillery, which closed in 1925.”
I’ve already touched upon port recently in my Glencadam 17yo Reserva De Porto and the SMWS Douro Cruise articles. Both of these examples were finishes as opposed to the full maturation of this Kilkerran. To withstand the power of a port cask you need a distillate with big baws as we say locally and Kilkerran should be able to withstand the Portuguese onslaught. Whereas we all know about Kilkerran and sherry wood – often to mixed results. The advantage of a larger outturn is that you can blend away the potential damage of a defective or inactive cask.
In saying all of this, we should also mention how remarkable it is that Kilkerran continue to deliver cask strength whisky for under £60. They could be charging much more in the face of increased demand. You also have to consider the remoteness of the distillery, the hands-on approach and inefficiencies that mark out the Springbank and Kilkerran styles. So, from a pricing perspective these are excellent value on paper. Remarkable even, if they can manage to reach retailers for a recommended price less than £60 and everyone still makes a profit. Happy days? We’ll find out and start with the sherry, before moving into the sweetness of port.
Review
Kilkerran 8yo, sherry cask, 58.1% ABV
Sold out
Nose
A well-used damp car seat with a leather material, petrol fumes. This is going automotive so far. Quite sooty in places and some beef jerky. Cloves and some aniseed coming through on the end. Walnuts and then a blackcurrant resin. There’s a herbal edge that starts with a minty freshness, then something, which I had pencilled down as tarragon but I’ve changed to dried coriander leaf. Toffee, crushed black peppercorns and chilli flakes. A splash of water brings out a touch more fruit, but not massively.
Palate
Slow cooked beef and leathery once again with black peppercorns. Dark chocolate mixed in with that sootiness that cascades into the finish. Some hemp cloth, stewed fruits, blackcurrant sweets and polished wood. Adding water highlights the earthy peat, charcoal and heavy oak.
Score: 6/10
Archibald’s Notes
Nose
A sweet and vibrant nose. Toffee apples, caramel custard, panettone, melted milk chocolate and milky coffee. A little cherry note hiding here too. Smoked paprika, licorice and tobacco leaf. Quite clean, not much in the way of dirt, funk or smoke. Menthol and wood polish. Water does bring a little engine oil, more polish and orange zest.
Palate
Surprisingly thin texture wise, definitely different to the port cask. Toffee Eclairs with vanilla cream, stewed apples with clove. Raisins, dark chocolate and walnuts. Much hotter mid-palate than the port cask – a real capsicum heat with fresh ginger too. A Play-Doh note here too that doesn’t sit well for me. Like the nose, very little smoke or funk. Water makes the texture even worse but brings out mixed peel and further highlights that Play-Doh off note. The finish is short with the ginger and capsicum heat lingering alongside some drying ashiness.
Score: 4/10
Score: 5/10
Average. In a Good Way.
TL;DR
Kilkerran in a new host with a touch of sweetness.
Review
Kilkerran 8yo, port cask, 57.9% ABV
Sold out
Nose
I’m feeling this is less defined on the nose. Fresh honeycomb, chilli flakes and red apples. Pencil shavings, new tobacco, agave, putty and frozen raspberries. Basil leaf, coal dust, redcurrants and some autumnal notes. Moments of sweet red wine. It has less to showcase and as such, is less expressive even with water.
Palate
Not overly sweet, so that’s a positive. Some wild strawberries, cherries and red liquorice. Pleasant and inoffensive. Drinkable with some hot chocolate on the finish. Moments of peat and earthiness but these are held back by the host cask.
Score: 5/10
Archibald’s Notes
Nose
Straight away you are hit by jammy, stewed fruit notes. Damsons and plum, raspberry jam and Demerara sugar. There’s some soy, bacon rind and engine oil. Fresh Tobacco leaves and leather. We also get a wisp of smoke and struck matches. Water gives us some natural yoghurt, more soy and citrus peels.
Palate
The smoke is more intense on the palate than the nose. A good texture that presents jammy port notes of berry compote and sticky baked figs. Some bitter cocoa with molasses. Again there’s tobacco along with black pepper and a mild chilli heat plus some soot. Water brings out honey-glazed ham, more pepper and bonfire ash. The finish is a mix of ash, bitter herbs, copper with the stewed fruits pushed to the background.
Score: 6/10
The Dregs (Dallas)
I almost forgot to say that it’s great fun to compare and contrast these two releases. Distilled close to one another and laid down at around the same time. The only deviation is the wood and letting mother nature do her thing.
The nose on the sherry release is fun and I really enjoyed toying with it. The palate is where things become less expressive. It feels as if the sherry and distillate are still figuring out their marriage. It’s not unbalanced at all, rather a work in progress to take inspiration from another range.
The port doesn’t win me over fully as I know it has done so for others. The characteristic sweetness is present and thankfully not in spades. Even now after a couple of evenings with it, I’m still not sure whether I like it or not. There’s nothing thrilling or memorable about it. Perhaps that’s its greatest strength? Drinkable and showcases that a strong distillate can withstand that port barrage? I’ll leave that one to you.
Oh yeah, I took inspiration from the opening gambit and actually poured a blend of both of these whiskies together. How they might have been if things didn’t turn out how they have done. My impressions? Well, I’m not going to do tasting notes for such an experiment. It was smokier on the nose and the sherry cask was more dominant in a 50/50 blend. Yet the palate they had cancelled one another out, so the decision to let these characters do their own thing was indeed correct.
The Dregs (Archibald)
The fact Kilkerran can put these out for the price – I paid £53 from my local bottle shop Fairleys Wines – is quite remarkable considering their output. Certainly here in Ireland I couldn’t see any producer releasing a cask strength eight year old for an rrp of £48.
But like all things Springbank/Longrow/Hazelburn/Kilkerran related, there’s batch variation to contend with and these bottles highlight this really well.
Of the two the port cask is the best integrated which surprised me as few distillates manage to survive a full port maturation. I’m nearly half way through my bottle already and I’m enjoying it. The nose and palate balance pretty well and there is a good mix of the port sweetness and fruits alongside more savoury and funky notes from the distillate.
The sherry cask really has not fared so well at all. Of all the sherry cask releases of the eight year old so far, this is the least successful for me. All the action happens at the front of the palate before a barrage of heat takes over and the flavour development is very limited. The texture also surprised me as I found it pretty thin, even more so when water was added.
I know I’m fortunate to have both so I’m going to play with blending both components to see if I can come up with something that will make the sherry cask more enjoyable.
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DM
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Other opinions on this:
Whiskybase (port cask)
Whisky Whims (port cask)
Whiskybase (sherry cask)
Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.
