Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength

I like the story of Glengyle distillery's birth, that the SWA wanted to remove Campbeltown's status as a region due to the fact that it only had 2 working distilleries and that 3 would be needed in order to consider it a region. So as a middle finger J&A Mitchell renovated a long closed building and outfitted it with two refurbished pot stills, all the barley would still come over from Springbanks maltings and voilà.

It's likely hyperbole but it makes good print.

This is the second batch of Cask Strength, it's composed of all first-fill ex-bourbon casks. This was via a sample swap but have since been able to acquire a bottle via an eagle-eyed Connosr member.

Nose: Barley forward, vegetal peat, dusty books, wet oak, paraffin, the peat is resinous and conifer like. With water, we get a bit of fruits, mostly green pear and kiwi, it seems to bring out the vanilla as well as a touch of camphor.

Palate: Ashy, earthy, sweet & mineral. Ginseng, lime leaf, aspirin tablets. Water brings out more unripe fruit , waxy lemons and spice.

Finish: Slightly medicinal, lemon lozenges, more ash and sweet malty barley.

Blab: I added water the first time but the second time around I felt the drinking strength was perfect. I was at times reminded of Lagavulin 12 especially on the finish. This is kind of a stripped down style, it highlights what may be the distillery's character, I think the 8 year old shows off the Springbank parentage more than the Kilkerran 12.

You have to like the kind of mineral waxy, sooty style otherwise this may not pull you in.