Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 1
The Glengyle distillery—makers of Kilkerran single malt—is one of the darlings of the whisky nerd world. And for good reason. Kilkerran 12 Year Old is one of the most interesting and tasty 12 year old whiskies on the planet, Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength is also quite good (although it does vary by batch), and a number of other individual releases have been well received and are highly sought after. The spirit itself is Campbeltown to the core (which is a great thing if, like me, you love Campbeltown-style malts), and yet is distinctly different from its sister distillery, Springbank. It has loads of unique character, and the distillery always presents their whisky the right way (non chill-filtered, natural color, etc.). There’s so much to like about what Glengyle/Kilkerran is doing.
Normal Kilkerran distillate is only lightly peated. It often comes across as a less peated sibling to your typical Springbank malt. But much like Springbank produces a heavily peated style of malt in Longrow, Kilkerran has also been making a heavy peat style for a few years now in order to satisfy the ever growing demand for a good peat monster. And a peat monster it is, with Kilkerran’s heavily peated malt coming in at a whopping 84ppm (a higher ppm than most Islay single malts).
Before Kilkerran landed on the beginning of its core range, previews of the whisky were regularly released as it first matured in the form of the Kilkerran “work in progress” series. These releases were quite popular a few years back, before the 12 year old became available. In the same vein, Kilkerran is releasing very young, cask strength “peat in progress” expressions of their heavily peated malt. An exciting idea for those who want to follow the heavily peated Kilkerran from its infancy until it reaches its target maturation. How many of these releases will we see before there is a core range (hopefully age stated) version? Who knows, but they’re already up to batch 3. I haven’t had a chance to taste either of the two most recent batches, but I did manage to purchase a bottle of batch 1. Let’s see how it tastes!
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Review (Batch 1)
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Campbeltown
Age: NAS
ABV: 59.3%
Non chill-filtered
Natural color
Nose
Powerful… nose burningly powerful. Quite a tingly sensation. Plenty of peat smoke. Ash. Lemon peel and lime. Earthy. Mint. Moonshine. Even with water added, the potent, young ethanol and smoke raises the hair in your nose. If you’re suffering from allergies or a stuffy nose, this stuff will clear you right up!
Palate
A real beast without water, quite potent. To my palate, it requires a good bit of water just to be drinkable. With water, some interesting (although young) notes emerge. Lots of citrus. Lemon especially, but also orange and lime. Plenty of earthy, smoky peat, similar in style to Longrow (which makes sense… same region, same owners). Yeasty. Vanilla pudding. Burnt caramel. Cinnamon spice. Some nutmeg too. New make spirit. The youth is obvious, but the quality of the spirit is also evident. This is well made whisky, but… it’s so, so young. Too young.
The texture is nice and oily, which is the best part of this dram, but it’s just not enough to overcome the extreme youthfulness, which borders on tasting like peated moonshine.
Finish
Medium in length. Lots of cinnamon and ethanol. A bit of menthol. The peat smoke is still present, but less so.
Overall
There’s a hell of a lot of promise in this whisky, but it’s just way too immature and rough around the edges. I enjoy young whisky in many instances, but not when it’s this immature. Some interesting notes are found here and there certainly, but the new make spirit notes ultimately overwhelm the entirety of the dram. Of course this is not really meant to be a finished work just yet—it’s called “peat in progress” for a reason, after all. Still, I would like to see a little more maturity from a whisky that’s being sold commercially at a not insignificant price. It’s an interesting experience, but in the end, not a terribly fulfilling one.
SCORE: 4/10
Final Thoughts
I love Kilkerran, and I can’t wait for a properly aged version of this whisky. Even at a still young age of around eight years or so, I imagine this heavy peat distillate will be quite good. However, this particular release, which is probably aged for only a little over three years, is a disappointment. It’s fun and educational to taste young whisky like this, but when I buy a bottle of single malt, I want more than just fun and learning—I want a whisky that tastes like whisky more than it tastes like moonshine.
Buying Advice: If you’re a big fan of Kilkerran and don’t mind a very young tasting whisky, then by all means go for it. At least it’s not an outrageously expensive bottle (although at around $70, it’s also not cheap). Just understand what you’re getting into—this is not a finished product. It’s a preview. For most people, I would recommend seeking out a sample, rather than buying a bottle.
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.
