So to start off this week's whisky reviews I decided to go back and try one of my favorite new single malt scotch whiskies from the lovely region of Campbeltown! Also sorry for being a day late by the way!
Kilkerran is made at the Glengyle Distillery in Campbeltown and is owned by J & A Mitchell's who also owns Springbank Distillery and Cadenhead's who is dubbed the world's oldest independent bottler of whisky and other fine spirits. Glengyle originally started in 1872 and was founded by William Mitchell, a co-owner of Springbank with his brother John. Due to quarrels between the brothers, William left to form Glengyle after Riechlachan Distillery closed down which was operated by his other brothers. However, in 1919 the distillery was sold off due to the post-World War I economic woes in Scotland and after multiple changing of hands the distillery was shut down in 1925 and all stocks were sold. This time was known as the collapse of Campbeltown where the biggest whisky region in Scotland was reduced down to just 2 distilleries, Springbank and Glen Scotia. The distillery had multiple re-opening attempts in the 1940s and 1950s but neither attempt succeeded and history for the distillery went grim. But in 2000, Mitchell’s Glengyle Ltd. was created by J & A Mitchell's and after installing two stills from the closed Ben Wyvis Distillery it finally began to distill whisky again in 2004 and became the first "new" distillery to be built in Campbeltown in 125 years.
After multiple Work In Progress releases in the 2010s, Glengyle finally released a 12 year old single malt whisky for the international market. The name "Kilkerran" comes from Saint Kieran, one of Ireland's 12 apostles but also a prominent religious figure in Campbeltown. This change came about due to Glengyle's trademark being owned by Loch Lomond Distillers so the owners decided to name the whisky output Kilkerran instead.
So moving onto this whisky itself it is produced using Springbank malted barley as Glengyle were still working on their own grain to glass operations which hopefully should be done relatively soon. This whisky is non chill filtered at 46% and is bottled at natural color after 12 years in bourbon and sherry casks.
- Colour: Pale gold
- Nose: Apple, sea spray, sweet oak, fresh green grapes, citrus fruits, treenuts
- Taste: Spicy oak, honey, vanilla, nuts, light brine, raisins, oranges, allspice
- Finish: Medium with light brine and fruit salad
82 pts
Even more so it is a very impressive entry level dram from a brand new distillery and I hope Ontario gets the 8 year old cask strength from Glengyle because I'd love to see hos this distillery's profile looks with cask strength. A wonderful first age stated showing and I can't wait to try more from them!
Current Review Scoring System:
0-49: Horrible
50-59: Bad
60-69: Mediocre to Average
70-74: Average to Good
75-79: Good to Great
80-84: Great to Excellent
85-89: Excellent
90-94: Superb
95+: Masterpiece
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