Tastes

Bought this in November and just cracking it open. Up front I’ll say I’m in between a 4.25 and 4.5 on this not on the low end. Also I’d never heard of Kilkerran until I saw this bottle but, after a quick googling, it sounded wonderful and did not disappoint. My first experience with Cambeltown was Springbank 12. It was just a taste and it was handed to me with water (it’s cask strength after all but would have been nice to ask 🤷‍♂️) and it was awesome. I’d love to taste it neat (and I’ve since bought a bottle so I’ll be able to at some point). I was hoping this would feel similar to that. I had that 6 months ago and honestly only remember liking it not exactly what it tasted like. This is peaty but not full on (granted my go to are the big peat smackers of Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg and Bruichladdich PC). This might be a good intro to Islay for a newbie. Sorry for the ramble. Initially poured into a rocks glass. Getting more peat than I expected on the nose. There’s some fruitiness there as well but less pronounced. I originally thought citrus like lime or orange but it could have been lemon. Taste is first peat and then sweetness. Pretty sure that’s vanilla. There are some chocolatey tones too but it’s mostly vanilla. The peat is there but it’s well balanced with the fruity and the sweet. A few hours later (after finishing Ralfy’s review) I put some more in a Glencairn glass. Took another sip to affirm the above notes. I then added a tiny bit of water and gave it a swirl before walking the dogs. I got back and the peat was gone from the nose. I’m getting tons of LEMON now. Obvious lemon no more “citrus but I dunno which one.” It’s lemon, lemon juice, lemon zest, even a little bit of lemon pledge 😉. Not really but it’s delightful. Only downside is I MISS the peat terribly because it’s completely gone from the nose. I’m glad I tried it both ways because otherwise I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. I will be messing with the water amounts on this one as I make my way through the bottle. There’s still a little peat and salinity on the palate but it’s toned down a TON. Still a nice balance of peat and sweet and fruit but the water (or this amount of it) knocked it far to the fruit side for me. This will definitely be a great bottle to have around. I don’t want to always be smacked by Laphroaig but I want SOMETHING and the Glens and the rest don’t give it to me. I may grab another bottle for the bunker

Sweet up front. A little hot and spicy on the back end.

Getting a TON of sweetness up front tonight. I don’t remember that from the last time I opened this. Haven’t yet had an Ardbeg I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. A wonderful post dinner sip

If this were taste per ounce this would be higher but I can’t rate it up there with good bourbon. For $20 per bottle this is quite smooth and flavorful but it’s got a lot of burn and bite compared to most of what I usually drink. Compared to the other stuff in this price range it’s great but there’s much better bourbon out there.

The only Rye I can compare it to is the 4 year Willett Family Estate. It doesn’t measure up to that. It IS very nice tho. Sweet from the rum balances out the rye spice quite well. This is very drinkable straight up. I’m right around 4.1 on this.

Tried with a great friend. His first time trying it as well. I was very excited when I found this bottle. Very sweet and well rounded. Normally while nosing something this high ABV I have to give it some distance but this doesn’t smell or taste like a Cask strength whiskey. It’s complex and wonderful with a little spicy edge but not harsh or painful. Fruit and Vanilla before the spice. This was by far my best experience with Rye and I’m looking forward to the rest of the bottle.

I could give a longer description but what is on my tongue is waves of sweet and then alcohol burn and then sweet again and then more heat. It lingers and gets less sweet and less burn but it’s still there. It’s quite nice. I wish there was more of this around

200th anniversary edition. Less complex but in a lot of ways a bigger punch than the 16. At this price for an age statement Lagavulin you can’t go wrong. I still prefer the 16 but this is wonderful and I can afford to do it almost as much as I want