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Kilkerran Work in Progress 6 Bourbon Wood

Average score from 3 reviews and 3 ratings 89

Kilkerran Work in Progress 6 Bourbon Wood

Product details

  • Brand: Kilkerran
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • ABV: 46.0%
  • Age: 10 year old

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@markjedi1
Kilkerran Work in Progress 6 Bourbon Wood

Kilkerran is a work in progress, meaning it is not yet ready for its grand release as a single malt. It is a single malt already, of course, for it is already 10 years old. This release, with a rather ugly pink label on the bottle, arrives in both a bourbon and sherry matured variety. I will put them head-to-head, starting with the Bourbon Wood.

I immediately get citrus and malt on the nose, with a twig of mint and loads of porridge. Gooseberries, green appels and a lot of pears. Slowly but surely this evolves towards dried apricots. Caramel and vanilla. And of course a bit of peat, but very discrete.

The body is more than fine. Even oily. Pretty sweet upon arrival, vanilla taking the lead, before the fruit kicks in. Quite peaty, though! I had not expected this after the soft nose. Walnut pie, should such exist. Touch of rubber, though. Evolves towards exotic fruit, even. Mango? Papaya? Agrum? Nice.

The finish is fairly short, but quite pleasant on spices, smoke and walnuts. Maybe even some white chocolate and almonds at the very end.

The nose was somewhat shy, but on the palate it opened up beautifully.

@Pandemonium

I love Campbeltown whiskies, by that I mean everything of the Springbank range, not Glen Scotia. But it took me quite some time to eventually try the sister distillery of Springbank from the same owners.

I'll admit I've been missing out.

Nose: tones of apricots, honey, sunflower oil, with some underlying briny soft coastal notes.

Palate: very sharp (unexpected) on the palate, with an oily texture, almonds, honey, a touch of green apples, and a mix of soft fruits with mils peppery notes.

Finish: medium long and drying, sugared flavours with an endnote of dried prunes,

Not all what I expected, the palate came as a bit of a shock to me, it cuts like a knife. Didn't like it at the first sip, adored it at the last. Takes some getting used, so probably not for beginners, but to the seasoned malty mad heads under us I say, give it a go.

Great review Pandemonium. I too am a huge Springbank fan and unfortunately have been ignoring Kilkerran. You're review has prompted me to get a bottle around the Holidays if I can find one. It's tough to find here in the states.

They sell out quickly as they release only one batch (make that two: a sherry and a bourbon) each year. But according to some critics they've been improving year after year, so maybe you'll soon be able to buy the 2015 release

@MaltActivist

One of my first whiskies ever was a Springbank 10 Cask Strength and truth be told I didn't know what hit me. In a good way. This is way before I knew my cask from a cork. Some days I still don't but, hey.

And, thus, began my fascination with this small giant of a region, Campbeltown. Springbank led to Longrow which led to Hazelburn which led to Glen Scotia and which finally led to these work of art expressions from Glengyle Distillery, the Kilkerran Work In Progress series.

Not all whiskies from this region are great but like a father who has a favorite child I tend to forgive a lot. Luckily with the Kilkerrans there's really nothing you need to forgive.

The first one I picked up was a WIP 4 and I remember introducing it to my whisky club who had no idea what it was. The look on their faces when they tried it for the first time was priceless. Such a young and vibrant whisky it completely blew them away.

The WIP 5 was an equally big hit with them the following year. And so when I picked up this years' installment I couldn't wait to put it on the tasting block!

Kilkerran opened it's doors in 2004 so you can be sure there's some 10 year old spirit in the WIP 6. Matured exclusively in bourbon wood and served up at 46%.

Nose: There's a coastal briny-ness which stays with you through out but it's balanced out by a delicate freshness that comes from young(ish) spirits. Nutty. Oily walnuts. Sweet apricots covered in sticky sugar. Green apples and vanilla with the mildest of peat.

Palate: Juicy pears and green apples. Honey drizzle almonds. Black and white peppers with a hint of lemon citrus. Lovely mouth feel. This medium bodied spirit is on point.

Finish: Medium with oily custard.

This is an excellent spirit without the frills. I love it when the integrity of the spirit stands out above all the distractions we have come to expect from this industry.

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