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Kinsip Wild Oak Whisky

Two Kinsips - Part II

0 280

@talexanderReview by @talexander

19th Nov 2017

1

  • Nose
    21
  • Taste
    20
  • Finish
    18
  • Balance
    21
  • Overall
    80

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Distribution of ratings for this: user

  • Brand: Kinsip
  • ABV: 47%

This one they call Wild Oak. Kinsip describes it as "bourbon-style" and is a blend of corn, wheat, rye and malt, matured for 3 1/2 years in American oak. 642 bottles.

The colour is a medium toffee. Very young and estery on the nose, with chili spice, oak tannins, mint and artificial vanilla extract. Tangerine and green apple. Cinnamon. Lots of corn here. Water brings out more mint and tames the esters. Complexity but a bit too young.

Like the Maple Whisky, hot on the palate with freshly ground black pepper, black liquorice, toffee and maple. Canned apricot. Hint of butterscotch. Creamy mouthfeel. Better with water - still spicy but not as hot, creamier, more butterscotch. As good a 3 1/2 year old whisky as you can imagine.

The finish is astringent with mouth-pulling oak, sage and allspice. When they were 66 Gilead they bottled a Wild Oak (pictured - the new label is much more elegant) which was dreadful - this bottling is definitely an improvement. It doesn't have much in common with the Maple of course, except that their youth is just far too upfront. Although I'm not giving these great scores, there is loads of potential here - I have a feeling we're going to see some really great stuff once their whiskies are more fully matured.

2 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

Interesting.

Is it 4 grains mashed and cooked together, like bourbon, or a blending of 4 separate whiskies made from 4 separate grains, like Canadian blended whisky?

What is the oak used? New oak, re-used bourbon or Canadian oak, or a combination? Is the oak charred?

6 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@Victor I don't know any more of that info - I wrote everything the label and website provides. Good questions to ask though for next time I visit. Based on the flavour, I would say new charred oak (but that is a guess of course). In the world of Canadian whisky, the grains are usually distilled separately and then after a period of maturation, blended together and further matured (as opposed to using a mashbill), but that may not be happening here, I have no idea.

6 years ago 0

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