Kilkerran 12 Year Old

The first 12 years old Kilkerran was presented in June 2019. It’s a vatting of 70% Kilkerran on bourbon and the remaining 30% is sherry cask matured. It was reduced to 46% and can be purchased for only 40 to 50 EUR. A very affordable entry level malt. What am I saying? Enty level? It’s the oldest malt from the young Glengyle distillery to date!

Boy, this is good! I have only just put my nose in the glass and am greeted immediately by a wonderful combination of citrus fruit, crispy Granny Smith apples, dried apricots, vanilla, beeswax, pebbles on the beach and the crust of a dark bread smothered in farmer’s butter. But of course there is also a nice hint of peat, a salty element and soft, sweet smoke. Arbroath Smokies in the distance. It will have to tasted pretty bad to ruin my day.

Nicely oily, almost waxy on the palate. Lots of mineral notes now, making me think of Springbank – well, they are related, right? More peat than expected. Nice development. Salt and sweet go head-to-head, but it is mostly the maritime character of the malt that dominates. The fruity note are reduced to candied orange peel. It is less complex than I had hoped – especially after the lovely nose – but it is certainly very tasty.

The finish is nicely long with a lovely, smoky death.

Bang for your buck, to be sure. Lovers of Campbeltown malts: rejoice! This is modern and old school at the same time. That’s craftmanship.