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Kilkerran 12 Year Old

Hallelujah Campbell Town

8 888

@NamBeistReview by @NamBeist

13th Jun 2017

0

  • Nose
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  • Taste
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  • Finish
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  • Balance
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  • Overall
    88

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Sometimes one cannot praise a distillery enough. Kilkerran is a rising star. Kilkerran produces great whiskies which are affordable. Kilkerran 12 is a perfect example of a traditional whisky and I am fond of it. Long live Kilkerran!!!! If you hesitate to buy a bottle because it is a hype. Well, it is not a hype. It is a honest dram full of flavor and joy

I drink my whisky neat after a cup of strong black coffee

NOSE Salt, Lemon, Honey , some Peat and Vanilla

TASTE It is sweet and creamy. Lots of lemon. It is peaty and briny. Some butterscotch and lot of vanilla

Finish Lemon. Liquorice . Brine . Pepper.

Balance Just Great

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8 comments

@Ol_Jas
Ol_Jas commented

Nice! @NamBeist , all your salty & briny quotes here are really making my mouth water.

The thing everyone should keep in mind about the Kilkerran hype (if that's even the right word—maybe enthusiasm would fit better) is that it's coming from drinkers, not from marketers. The good folks at Springbank making this stuff don't do a darn thing to promote it from what I can tell. Heck, they only spend one month out of the year even making the stuff.

And they're really nailing it with all the whisky geek bona fides: Craft presentation, nice honest packaging, super fair price, age statements, age-progressing releases over the years until they finally hit 12, no cask shenanigans, old-school style. I love these guys.

And I bet all the slick marketing guys cooking up stupid "stories" for the big boys' latest NAS brands wish they had a real story as good as the one behind Kilkerran's rebirth. And Kilkerran hardly makes a peep about it!

I really surprise myself that I haven't opened my 12 yet. (I let it get caught up in some bottle schemes for my club.) But when I do, I'm gonna pop all the extra WIPs I'd been bunkering over the past few years and have a big fat Kilkerran vertical extravaganza. Woooo!

6 years ago 3Who liked this?

@Alexsweden
Alexsweden commented

I'm so glad to hear this delivers!

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan commented

@OlJas of course, you mean horizontal, not vertical.

6 years ago 0

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

But do they have a story about their founder, Sir Angus MacKilty, who single-handedly saved all of Scotland from an invasion of angry, twelve point buck-riding Vikings ? stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye

I've only had one Campbeltown malt so far (Springbank 10) and I was very impressed. The folks at Springbank quietly seem to be doing things the right way.

Sadly, neither the LCBO, SAQ (Québec), NB Liquor (New Brunswick) or NSLC (Nova Scotia) carry Kilkerran.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NamBeist
NamBeist commented

@OdysseusUnbound It is a pity that you cannot buy Kilkerran 12 yo. Well you mention that you are able to get Springbank 10 yo, which is a delicious dram in my opinion. It is even better than Kilkerran 12 yo. I would give Springbank 10 yo 91 points. Springbank 12 yo Cask Strength is a treat . It is 93 points in my book. Springbank 12 CS has sherry influences. Alas , it is a lot more expensive than the 10 yo. Maybe you are able to get a sample of Springbank 12 yo CS. I am curious about your impressions after you have tasted it.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@NamBeist I believe I gave Springbank 10 a 91 in my review. I'm fighting to make that bottle last. It's magnificent and a bit of a chameleon. Its character changes a bit every time I have a dram. Not better or worse, just different. I'm very impressed with it. Springbank 10 and Longrow Peated (NAS) are the only Campbeltown whiskies I can get where I am.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound
OdysseusUnbound commented

@Nozinan I may have to try and convince my wife to let me be the Teacher's Union Rep again. smirk

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

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