Kilkerran 12 Year Old

I've been chipping away at this one for almost a couple of months now and it is a bit of a chameleon malt. I feel I could review this tomorrow and have a distinctly different take on it.

This is from a double pour with a few drops of water, in the glass about 20 minutes. Just less than half a bottle remains.

Nose is fresh oak, salt, something sweet and confectionery like, sourness, some lemon pith and rind, a peaty tang and an oily industrial note about it. It's complex with a malty core.

Taste is a big hit of coal and lemons. There's sweetness present but the sour, salty notes come to dominate as it develops - like licking a lathe that's had lemons smeared on it.

Finish is a peaty, tarry salty tang with some mildly astringent tannins. Maybe a touch of sweetness in there as well. Good, oily mouthfeel. Pleasingly malty.

I'm imagining being in an old train engine room while the man shovels in coal to keep it chuffing away. There may be a slight fudgy, raisin note on the nose as well but it's worth adding I'm getting over a nasty chest infection and have a slight lingering cold, so not 100% at the races re. my notes.

This is an enjoyable and complex whisky but it is definitely not what I'd call easy drinking that's for sure. Tis nay a bad thing, mind.