For their 15th anniversary, the Glengyle distillery realeased a bunch of 15yo Kilkerran bottlings. There are lot of cask type and every bottlings are country-specific. Let’s try most of them!
Kilkerran 15 yo 2004-2019 (53.1%, OB, UK Retailers edition, refill bourbon hogshead, 324 bottles)
Colour: Straw.
Nose: It’s quite closed, not very expressive. Alcohol is a bit too much present. White peach, lemon cake, wood. It’s a bit too flat.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is good. Iodine, salt, gentle peat, butter, lemons, pepper and chalk. It reminds me of some delicious candied lemon cakes.
Finish: Long. Slightly peated, candied lemons, iodine, hints of smoke and chalk adding some delicious mineral notes.
That’s quite good! The nose is subpar but everything else is solid.
Score: 88
Kilkerran 15 yo 2004-2019 (53.5%, OB, Potstill – Austria edition, bourbon wood, 306 bottles)
Colour: Straw.
Nose: A lot of solvants, liquorice, varnish, wood smoke, lemons and hints of brine in the background.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is not very good. Lemons, citruses, yellow peach, chalk, honey, black pepper and some coastal notes such as sea salt and shells.
Finish: Long. Chalk, oak and pepper.
The bad alcohol integration is a pity given the rest is pretty good. Still an enjoyable dram of course.
Score: 87
Kilkerran 15 yo 2004-2019 (53.2%, OB, Distillery anniversary edition, rum barrel, 324 bottles)
Colour: Straw.
Nose: There is some kind of sour notes. Freshly cut apples, varnished wood, solvants, chalk and lemon zest.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is good. Lemons, chalk, pepper and hints of cold ashes.
Finish: Long. Lemons, chalk a,d pepper again.
There is a nice overall coherence but it lacks some complexity and power.
Score: 87
Kilkerran 15 yo 2004-2019 (51.1%, OB, Taiwan edition, Madeira cask, 180 bottles)
Colour: Deep gold.
Nose: It’s really flat. Red fruits, leather, white pepper, plums and oak.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is not very good. Pepper, oak, red fruits and cold ashes.
Finish: Mid-long. Pepper, oak, chalk, wood smoke and peppermint.
The freshness of the finish is really enjoyable, but the rest is quite average.
Score: 87
Kilkerran 15 yo 2004-2019 (51.6%, OB, Bresser and Timmer – Holland edition, Fino sherry puncheon, 336 bottles)
Colour: Deep copper.
Nose: Dusty books, leather, dates, butter, raisins, bitter chocolate and some balsamic vinegar.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is not very good and there a lot of sulfur. Salt, black pepper, tobacco, heavy tannins and brine. There is way too much sulfur to be enjoyable in my humble opinion.
Finish: Mid-Long. A lot of solvants, rubber, white pepper, wood smoke and cold ashes too.
Most of the time a bit of sulfur is not really a problem for me but here, the sulfur notes on the palate are killing the dram, that’s just too much.
Score: 82
Kilkerran 15 yo 2004-2019 (52.1%, OB, The Nectar – Belgium edition, Fino sherry & refill bourbon hogshead, 222 bottles)
Colour: Deep copper.
Nose: Leather, dried fruits, almonds, ripe plums, date, some rancio, anise star and bitter cocoa. Everything is a bit shy.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is good and there is still some sulfur notes. Ah! Sulfur notes are disappearing and now appear some almonds, figs, plums, dates, bitter dark chocolate and raisins. It’s better!
Finish: Long. Wood, red berries, raisins, leather and some mint freshness too.
The finish is clearly superior to everything else, I love the freshness lingering for such a long time!
Score: 86
Those releases are globally good but I’m not really convinced at the moment, none of those are incredible in my opinion. Maybe we will find some better ones in the second part, at least I hope!
Tasting Bro's 